


The Caged Crow II Haikyuu x Male OC

by floofybirb



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Karasuno, Karasuno Family, Li Wei Protection Squad, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Pretty Setter Squad, Protective Karasuno Volleyball Club, Running Away, Self-Acceptance, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28543581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floofybirb/pseuds/floofybirb
Summary: "𝒮ℴ𝓂ℯ𝓉𝒾𝓂ℯ𝓈..ℐ 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝒾𝒸ℯ 𝓌ℴ𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝒷ℯ𝓃ℯ𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝓂ℯ 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓁ℴ𝓌 𝓂ℯ 𝓌𝒽ℴ𝓁ℯ.."Li Wei was considered to be the epitome of perfection: someone others wanted to strive to be. With wealth, status, looks, and talent, his life should've meant he had it all and yet, he had nothing at all.With a need to break free from his current life, Li Wei runs away and finds comfort in a nest of crows.Will these crows and a few others be able to truly help Li Wei break free or will he find himself drowning in freezing water.➳Warning(s): This fanfic will include themes of abuse, suicidal thoughts/actions, depression, and homophobia.Updates Once A Week© All Rights Reserved
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Undisclosed Relationship(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14





	1. The Facade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Mentions of abuse and homophobia)

**LI WEI IS EVERYTHING SOMEONE WANTS TO BE WITHIN THEIR LIFE-** beautiful, driven, and academically advanced compared to his peers. He has not just wealth, but status within his homeland China. Someone as perfect as he is, with long flowing hair as dark as the night sky and beautiful emerald green eyes that shimmer in the moonlight, should have absolutely no issues. No, of course not, those with everything must be happy.

On top of all of that, Li Wei is also an accomplished figure skater, having competed all over the world and winning medals upon medals. His status is that of a celebrity and he is constantly surrounded by the higher echelons of society. 

His family is perfect to the outside world. Li Na, his mother, is one of the top actresses in China, stunning the masses with her powerful acting that has even the most powerful of men shaking in fear and awe. Li Jie, his father, is a politician whose popularity amongst the people is so elevated that he could simply do no wrong. In a family such as this,  _ there is no room for mistakes _ .

Behind closed doors, his mother and father go from loving people to demons who salivate at his pain. Mistakes were considered sins within the Li household and if Wei were to ever make a mistake, he would be due for a whipping. 

The first mistake Li Wei ever made was at 5 years old, when he told his mother that he found a boy from class pretty. It was the first time he’d ever been hit and he would never forget it. His parents had thrown him into conversion therapy and by the age of 6, the mere thought of looking at a boy in any light other than platonic was no longer heard.

The second mistake Li Wei had ever made was when he told his parents he no longer wanted to learn to figure skate at the age of 8. He instead wanted to learn volleyball, after having watched the national team of China win at an international level. The fast paced movements and utter teamwork shown within that final match awed Li Wei. However, his parents yelled at him for such a notion. It was also the first time he was truly beat. From then on, Li Wei pretended that figure skating was the only sport he would ever turn to within his lifetime.

From then on, the mistakes grew worse and worse, as well as the punishments. It wasn’t until Li Wei fought back for the first time, at the age of 12, that he was introduced to the  _ basement _ . It was the one location of his large household that was rarely used and unfinished, something he had not understood until he was harshly thrown down the stairs.

It was the only area within their mansion that had yet to be completed and was never shown to guests. The entire room was draped in darkness, with a cold air harshly breezing throughout the area, which only added to the eeriness of the place. He never wanted to go down  _ there _ .

His father beat him up for good measure, before locking him into a closet. For days on end, Li Wei would continually scratch at the closet door, hoping his father would finally let him out. It was disgusting in the closet by the third day as he had no bathroom, no food, nor no water. For the first time in a long time, Li Wei had become even more frightened of what his parents were capable of.

That was not the only time that he was put into the basement, but Li Wei had gotten better at playing the game. He would go to his prestigious middle school, surpass his peers in all aspects, and be far more gentlemanly than necessary towards the female population. Li Wei hated it, but he had no choice as he later found out his every action was being reported to his father. He felt absolutely  _ caged _ .

The only times Li Wei felt the taste of freedom was whenever he travelled for competitions. Every country was different and he found himself time and time again falling in love with the many different cultures he’d come across. The last beautiful country he visited was Japan, where he utterly obliterated the competition. Truly, he wanted to go back and explore the country, but such a suggestion would surely get him locked in the basement...unless he made a foolproof plan. 

Ecstatic at his idea, Li Wei quickly got to work, researching ways to present the idea of studying abroad to his father and show him exactly how beneficial it would be. Not just to his status, but to his character overall. If his father or mother wanted him to become more “influential”, the best way to go about it would be to have experience outside of the country long-term. His parents had already been training from a young age in both the arts of acting and politics. With the skills of an actor, Li Wei would be a far better manipulator even if he absolutely hated those skills. On the other hand, his father threw him into politics, economics, and languages, the last skill was his favorite. He absolutely adored both Japanese and English and with knowing Japanese, his plans had far more merit.

At first, both his parents vehemently disagreed, stating that it would simply be detrimental to his academic career. Li Wei however would not give up his only chance of freedom and therefore presented Shiratorizawa, the top school within the Miyagi prefecture. He rationalized his decision by stating that if his parents wanted no one to know where he went, it would be the perfect place to lie low but also still an academically challenging school at his level. 

Of course, his parents had no idea about what his plan really entailed, but he was finally able to convince them. He told his parents that he wanted to be independent and figure everything out himself, from applying to the school, as well as finding a place to stay. Clearly, his parents did not want him to go alone or not have anyone to report his actions back to them, so they told Li Wei he had to take one of their bodyguards with him.

It was beyond frustrating, but Li Wei knew his plan would be flawless. When he applied to Shiratorizawa academy, he also applied to Karasuno, another school within the Miyagi prefecture. Li Wei’s plan was to completely escape his parents by applying elsewhere and escaping the bodyguard, therefore allowing him to be on his own. He had plenty of money saved up from his competitions, therefore he knew he could survive on his own. When he went to purchase the airplane tickets for both himself and the bodyguard, he altered the bodyguard’s ticket to bring him to a completely different prefecture, as they had a connecting flight. Neither his parents nor the bodyguard would notice until it was too late.

In order to further convince his parents, Li Wei made sure to show them his acceptance letter to Shiratorizawa and let them know he accepted a place within their academy, while simultaneously agreeing to Karasuno.

What they didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Finally, it was all coming together and Li Wei would soon be free. He was no fool however, as he realized he would struggle with his mental state once he was free of his parents grasp. Never was he allowed to attend therapy, as according to his father, that would make him seem weak. Whenever Li Wei felt completely listless and down, he would have to shove in into the back of his mind and never revisit it, pretending as though he were perfectly okay despite the nagging thoughts about  _ how wonderful death would be _ creeping in his head.

Li Wei would not miss China by any means, as the only life he had there was fake and made him feel sick. His friends only stuck by him for the status and popularity it provided them, but once the public was no longer in the picture, they’d abandon him. His parents were abusive and saw him as a product, not a person. All he would truly miss are the landscapes he’d rarely come across, presenting a beauty that could only be found in the darkest of times.

With all of his belongings packed and his mind in a more stable place, Li Wei bid adieu to his  _ loving _ parents, bodyguard in tow. The anxiety Li Wei felt was becoming more and more prominent, as he knew he had only  _ one  _ chance to pull off his plan.

The airport was bustling with people from all different directions and it overwhelmed Li Wei. He wore a mask, cap, and glasses in order to hide himself as the media could be relentless, nor did he want to explain to anyone where he was going. His parents would surely keep quiet about his studying abroad, as they would not want anyone to question their decisions.

After having checked in and gone through security, Li Wei waited by his gate to South Korea, where he would then take another plane straight to Narita, Japan. Within South Korea’s one of many airports, Li Wei would quickly lose his bodyguard, who had no idea where they were going. His father had told the man that his son would be studying abroad in Japan, just not where. That was supposed to be his job, so instead he mentioned the name of the prefecture on the bodyguard’s plane ticket. Freedom was so close yet so far, Li Wei could almost taste it.

The flight had only taken 3 hours, not that Li Wei truly cared for the amount of time as he relaxed within the confines of his business class seat. He kept himself busy by watching a documentary on polar bears to take his mind off of the impending panic attack he would surely have once he was in his new home. The day was taking a large toll on him mentally and for the first time, he’d be able to break down without worry. However, that time was still far away.

The second the flight had landed in South Korea, Li Wei frantically sped off the plane, getting as fast as he could from the bodyguard without being noticed. He was so close,  _ so close _ , he just needed to board the plane that was set to leave in 20 minutes. There were two flights with a path towards Japan, he took the first one, while his bodyguard would end up on the second.

Unfortunately, Li Wei had to slow down a bit but he was successful in his endeavors. He could feel the high that was on the rise, giddy at the fact that he succeeded. He made it just in time as well, as the plane was boarding passengers. This time around, he chose to sit within the economy class as a symbol of his new life, living as the average person.

_ No longer would he be Li Wei, the figure skater with the perfect life, but Li Wei,  _ **_the one who finally broke free._ **


	2. The First Crow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Mentions of implied pedophilia and abuse/torture, as well as shock therapy)

**ARRIVING IN NARITA AIRPORT WAS A DREAM COME TRUE** \- especially with how anxious Li Wei had been. When he found his luggage within the luggage retrieval area, all 4 plain suitcases, he sauntered towards the exit. One of the things Li Wei had done for his plan was to have transportation ready to arrive at his new home and god, that word home hit Li Wei in a way he’d never known before. 

Suddenly overcome with emotion, a few tears escaped his jewel-like eyes, leaving him to take off his glasses to wipe the tears away. His eyes alone demanded attention be brought to it and before he knew it, people were staring at him. Uncomfortable, Li Wei swiftly left the area and stalked towards the cab that was waiting for him as he waved towards the driver. It didn’t take long after that for him to find himself within the car and on his way towards the Miyagi prefecture, a thought that brought glee to his eyes.

Li Wei was far more relaxed than he’d been in a while, but the creeping of a breakdown was on the horizon. It was truly unavoidable. Taking off his ‘disguise’ was nice as he felt more free. There was no real worry about someone recognizing him as despite figure skating being a fairly popular sport, he was going to find himself in a volleyball domain. If someone were to truly recognize him, he’d...probably have no choice but to go further with disguises by changing his hair color, eye color, and using makeup in a way that would mask who he is.

Only an hour had passed before the car drove up onto the driver of his new beautiful home. It was an ordinary two story home with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a large enough backyard for him to maybe build a wall to bounce a volleyball off of. Stepping out the car, Li Wei attempted to tip the driver who helped him bring his bags inside, but suddenly remembered that it could actually be seen as rude. 

A bit flustered, Li Wei bowed and said thank you, before quickly entering his home and sliding down the door. He was embarrassed and found himself unable to put on a facade any longer. When he was surrounded by his ‘friends’, Li Wei acted fairly cold and untouchable because it was necessary to present himself in a way that showed no weakness, but his actual personality was more on the shy side. He could easily be intimidating and did have quite the temper when angry, but his lack of having real friends and parents who gave him more than just a beating left him shy and touch starved. Those were traits that had needed to be buried beforehand, but now that he was free, he could truly be himself.

Li Wei finally felt himself crack after years of living in a cold stone cage, though he still had chains wrapped around him. Sobbing, he cried for the life he never had, the love his parents never showed him, and the need to constantly hide who he was. Crying had been such a sign of weakness that Li Wei learned how to do it perfectly silently as being caught would end in a whipping. Sadly, it took years to master and the scars littering his back told that fairly well.

It took nearly an hour for Li Wei to come back to his senses as he wiped away the tears and snot that covered his face. He truly just wanted to sleep the rest of the day away, feeling exhaustion hook onto him, but found himself in a dilemma. 

The movers would not arrive until tomorrow, leaving Li Wei in a furniture-less house...which meant no bed nor no pillows or blanket. There was nothing he could truly do about it, unless he left his home and bought a few things, such as a futon. When Li Wei created his plan, he transferred whatever money he made into a private bank account so that neither of his parents could track his transactions. He knew they often monitored what he bought as Li Wei was not allowed to indulge himself in certain luxuries, such as eating the food he liked. Being a world-class figure skater meant he often had to stick to a specific diet and his parents took that to the extreme. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate something that was classified as ‘junk food’.

He sighed, staring listlessly at the wall across from him as he tried to figure out his next few steps. Karasuno High did not start until next week, so he had time in that regard, however he really did need some furniture and food in his household. The real issue was that Li Wei felt his depression rear its ugly head in his direction and found that he had no motivation to do anything. Instead, he wanted to wallow in his fears of his parents somehow finding him and dragging him back home. He suffered from a full body shudder at the thought, knowing he’d honestly be screwed if he were found.

With a long groan, Li Wei slowly stood up, using the door as support. He decided that it would be best to go shopping earlier than later, to avoid both missing meals and having to scour his new town at night, both of which were not viable options. Li Wei, before leaving his new home, searched for the bathroom on the first floor so he could clean his face with water as he did not appreciate dry snot being anywhere on his person. It didn’t take very long to find and Li Wei found himself standing in a very  _ lime  _ green bathroom, something he could not recall when looking through the pictures of the house. A bit put off by the color, he promised himself he would change it into something more fitting as he did not want to live in a house where the colors were simply  _ everywhere _ . He was also fairly peeved at the agency that promoted this household as they clearly did not update the images.

When Li Wei finished washing his face, he felt like an idiot for forgetting that he had no towels, so there he was with water dripping down his face. The only thing he could do is grab one of his other sweaters and use that as a replacement for a towel, as his current sweater was dirty from earlier. With that said, Li Wei was en route to his largest burgundy suitcase that had a volleyball print all over it. The suitcase was one of the few volleyball memorabilia of sorts that his parents allowed him to keep.

The contents of said suitcase was filled to the brim with clothing set for comfort, something he often found himself wearing on days where his mind was trapped in a sea of self-loathing. He grabbed a sweater with a cat-paw print that said “Meow” in large white katakana lettering, fitting perfectly amongst the black coloring. Li Wei always had a soft spot for cats and knew a school in Tokyo had cats for a mascot, however he was more likely to be recognized in Tokyo and simply could not risk it.

Yes, if he were anywhere but the Miyagi prefecture, he may be even less noticeable but he remembered watching an online match of Karasuno’s and falling in love with the atmosphere the team possessed. The idea of being part of a ‘family’ of sorts brought a flutter to Li Wei’s stomach and he simply could not resist it.

Once his new sweater was one, he quickly dried his face and left the house, using his keys to lock the door. Taking out his phone, Li Wei searched for a store that sold futons first, wanting to get the heavier purchases out of the way first. Luckily, there was a store 15 minutes away from where he lived on foot, which he was thankful for. 

His walk to the store was peaceful and quiet, something that truly helped his mind stabilize in a sense. Instead of blaring lights, busy nights, and loud noises, his new surroundings were worlds away from his life in Beijing. The difference was truly astonishing but so welcoming for someone who acted outwardly as an extrovert but was actually an introvert. 

Arriving at the store, Li Wei searched for a comfy futon that wasn’t too expensive, along with some blankets and pillows which were also in the bedroom section. He was worried he’d go back home with just the futon, but no warm blankets or pillows. Luckily, he found exactly what he wanted for a reasonable price and walked over to the check-out section intent on purchasing what he found.

The lady at the counter kindly let him know that his purchases would be delivered later that night, closer to 9pm. All of his items would be placed into a single large box and left out on his porch. Li Wei would make sure to be home then because he wasn’t sure if anyone would steal his items but, those kinds of people existed everywhere so it’d be safer if he were there. Graciously thanking the kind lady, Li Wei paid with his card and left the store, aiming to find a convenience store for a quick meal for dinner. It was currently 5pm, so he was sure somewhere would be open. 

Li Wei was using his phone at the moment, sneakily checking up on what his ‘friends’ were doing now that he was gone. He wasn’t surprised to see them talk about how much they  _ missed  _ him, before talking poorly about him on their private accounts. They’d all seemingly forgotten he followed both of their accounts on his own private account as he rarely used it. Just another reason as to why he was glad he was gone.

Li Wei had not been paying attention to his surroundings and honestly, he should have. Maybe he would have avoided getting crashed into, but alas, this was a consequence of his own actions. 

Li wei hadn’t heard the shouts to move out of the way and before he knew it, he was down on the ground and groaning. His eyes were blurry and all he could see was a bright orange light on top of him. It took him a second to adjust to his surroundings, his ears still ringing a bit.

“- you ok.” Li Wei managed to catch the last bit of whatever the person in front of him was saying, before finally getting a good look at them. The first thing he noticed was the clear worry and panic stricken on the maybe kid’s face, then he saw where the orange came from. His hair looked exceedingly fluffy and Li Wei had half a mind to touch it but quickly refrained, as that would simply be weird.

Hinata Shouyou was freaking out! He’d accidentally hit someone on his bike and the beautiful person wasn’t responding. He tried waving his hand in front of his eyes for any form of recognition but nothing, so instead he decided to shake the guy. This wasn’t supposed to happen! He kept speaking to the guy, hoping he’d eventually respond.

“HELLO? ARE YOU IN THERE?!? I’M SO SO SORRY FOR HITTING YOU WITH MY BIKE. I P-PROMISE IT WAS AN ACCIDENT..” The kid in front of him trailed off before rapidly bowing multiple times in order to show just how sorry he was. Li Wei, despite the bit of pain shooting through his left leg, let out a soft laugh which caught the kid off guard. The kid was so cute-no, no he was just average. He quickly shook those thoughts off as a subtle twitch occurred in his fingers.

It took Li Wei a second to calm himself down as he was almost assaulted with memories of that  _ place _ . He’d never forget the doctor who made him  _ touch  _ to convert him. With a shake of his head, Li Wei quickly plastered on an emotionless look, as though the small laugh he made never happened.

“My name is Li Wei. Thank you for apologizing but I have somewhere to be.” He stated, attempting to shake off the tangerine. He didn’t want to be near someone who made him have  _ abnormal  _ thoughts. Unfortunately, the kid didn’t seem to get the message whatsoever and instead introduced himself, but also somewhat clung to Li Wei.

“Oh oh! Hi! My name is Hinata Shouyou, future 1st year at Karasuno and ace of the volleyball club. Let’s be friends!!” Hinata yelled out energetically, practically jumping at the idea of making a new friend. Unknowingly, he’d been hanging onto Li Wei’s sweater, not noticing the way his hands shook and twitched.

In that moment, Li Wei truly wanted to run away but he was also trying to start an entirely new life so he let the emotionless mask fall before gently smiling at Hinata. “Well alright. I will also be attending Karasuno and aiming for the volleyball team,” Li Wei stated gently, subtly removing Hinata from his sweater without bringing much notice to it. He noticed the exact moment Hinata lit up and jumped for joy, before he began shooting a million questions at him.

“How tall are you? What’s your favorite color? What position do you play? Why are you so pretty? Where do you live? Where did you go to middle school? Do you like the Little Giant?” Hinata rambled on and on, before Li Wei gently placed his hand over Hinata’s mouth. Li Wei had gotten up when Hinata first began bowing, ignoring the pain in his left leg.

“Calm down there Hinata-san, give me a second to process those questions.” He stated, wondering what exactly he was getting himself into. It was also surprisingly refreshing, as Hinata did not know who he used to be so there was no  _ fakeness _ , which brought a small smile to his lips. Thinking back on all the questions, Li Wei slowly answered them as he simply could not speak as rapidly as Hinata could.

“I am 5’7” and my favorite color is emerald green. I trained myself for all positions as I wasn’t necessarily on a team so I am unsure of what I am truly best at.” Li Wei states, choosing to ignore one specific question before continuing on. “I live 10 minutes from here, closer to the mountains but still close enough that everything is in a somewhat reasonable distance. I went to middle school in China, my homeland, before deciding to..move here. I do find the Little Giant likable, but that is not my reason for attending Karasuno.” After answering all of Hinata’s questions, he noticed how awed he was, unsure of what prompted that reaction.

“Woah! You’re a foreigner?!?! Why’d you move here?” Hinata asks, tilting his head to the side. Li Wei takes a second to think of a reasonable answer before replying. “Compared to where I lived, this area is far quieter and when looking at schools in the area, I was captured by Karasuno’s essence per say. The volleyball team seemed like a family, something I always wanted..” Li Wei says the last part softly enough that Hinata does not catch it.

The two continued to chat, with Hinata following Li Wei all the way to the convenience store. When he asked why he would follow him, Hinata said that he wanted to hang out with his new friend as much as possible, causing Li Wei to feel flustered by that statement. Li Wei was admittedly touch-starved of affection and positive reinforcement. His ‘friends’ would sometimes hang onto him, but there was no affection behind it.

When they arrived at the store, Li Wei found himself somewhat giddy at the notion that he’d finally be able to purchase whatever he wanted and before he knew it, he quickly went in. Hinata followed right behind him, a bit surprised by the sudden rapidness of Li Wei’s walking but he takes it all in stride. Having a new friend who is also going to the same school makes Hinata feel a lot less nervous, especially as they’re both joining the volleyball team.

While Li Wei looks around the store, a childish look is visible on his face as the excitement from being able to _ choose what he wants _ is overwhelming and new. Cup noodles are a delicacy that was banned from his household because of the salt contents..so Li Wei buys  _ 7  _ individual cup noodles as no one rules him now. He also grabs different snacks and candies as he’d rarely been allowed those either. The only time he was able to indulge in such luxuries is during galas thrown by his parent’s friends.

Hinata finds that he enjoys the excitement on Li Wei’s beautiful- he means nice face. He continues to stare at him and laughs at the way Li Wei becomes increasingly flustered once he notices. “AH YOUR FACE IS SUPER RED,” Hinata exclaims, almost falling down while laughing. Li Wei attempts to cover his face but is unsuccessful as his neck is also red. 

Li Wei scurries over to the cash register, noticing the man who seems bored out of his mind behind the counter. He has blonde spiky hair and sharp brown eyes, but the most noticeable feature is the clear crankiness pleasant on his face. Before he realizes, his emotionless mask is up again as he stares the clerk down. 

Keishin Ukai stares straight back at the kid with long black hair and wonders what the hell he’s on. One second, he acts like a flustered schoolgirl and the next, he acts as if he’ll murder your dog for speaking out of turn. It’s so fascinating and if he were more awake at the moment, maybe he’d attempt to strike up some form of conversation, but his crankiness says otherwise. “Oi, kid, you gonna let me ring ya up or not?” He asks, noticing how the kid still hasn’t really put the items on the counter.

Li Wei feels like an idiot for just standing there and quickly places his food on the counter, pretending as if the last few minutes were nothing but a memory. Luckily for him, the clerk doesn’t dwell on it and instead focuses on ringing up his items, before putting the tray out so that Li Wei can pay. 

While waiting, Hinata comes up and hugs him from behind, causing Li Wei to flinch subtly. After constantly being scared into submission by his parents, Li Wei learned to control his flinches so no questions would ever be asked. He’s confused as to why Hinata is already so touchy-feely after 1 day and though he doesn’t hate it, he struggles to understand it. Hinata, oblivious to Li Wei’s inner struggles, talks about whatever comes to mind as Li Wei takes back his card and groceries from the clerk.

Fleeing the store, Li Wei allows Hinata to hang onto his wrist because he doesn’t quite know how to say no without coming off as rude. He’s exhausted from both his day and by Hinata, no matter how much he enjoys his company, therefore Li Wei is glad when Hinata says he has to go home. Apparently, he was supposed to be doing errands of his own and was meant to arrive home an hour earlier, causing his mother and younger sister worry. “Well, maybe we can meet up sometime this week before school starts, if you’d like..?” Li Wei trails off uncertainty, still feeling new to the whole friend concept. On the bright side, Hinata is ecstatic by his suggestion, “YA! We can practice volleyball and and get better together and walk to school together-” About to go off on another tangent, Li Wei gently shushes Hinata before taking his phone out of his hands. Li Wei adds his own number, with a promise to contact Hinata before classes begin.

The two say their goodbyes, leaving Li Wei to walk home alone. The time’s now 7pm and Li Wei is surprised by how fast time has flown by, having believed it would’ve been only 6:30pm at most. It’s fairly dark out already, yet he feels nothing but peace and safety, a luxury when he lived in Beijing. Often enough, being home around this time would result in some form of pain for not being home on time. It didn’t matter what his reasons were as his parent’s words were law.

With a shiver, Li Wei once again locks those memories away, to be dealt with when he feels he is ready..which could honestly never be. He’s currently 14 and yet, he feels as though he is over 20 years old from having to mature rapidly. The concept of coddling was foreign to him as his parent’s, who he often felt should maybe have aborted him, act as though he needs to be an adult. A sigh passes his lips as he slowly comes up to his house and opens the door with his keys, glad to finally be in his new safe space.

He places the groceries on the kitchen counter and begins unpacking what he can, placing most items in the pantry. The only non-pantry items are the milk, butter, and cheeses he purchased just in case. He also has a few bottles of water he bought because he currently has no other drinks, aside from water from the fridge itself. A sudden realization hits Li Wei, he has no cups, nor no plates. He feels like a fool for not thinking that far ahead, realizing the rest of the week will be extremely busy. He may only be able to hang out with Hinata if he comes over and helps him unpack everything.

With everything put away, Li Wei finds himself really exploring the house as he searches for what is to be his room. The master bedroom is fairly large and has a lovely walk-in closet and shower, which is great for him. He couldn’t deny the fact that he owns plenty of clothing that is expensive due to needing to keep up appearances and having that large closet space is very helpful. He then finds himself exploring the backyard and planning out how to create a nice enough wall to practice volleyball as he feels he’ll need far more practice than his future teammates. There’s an extremely low chance of him being able to join the starting lineup in the beginning, but he refuses to fall behind.

Li Wei turns his phone back on, noticing how another 2 hours have passed and runs towards the front door, hoping the futon has arrived. He wanted to sleep but he knew sleeping on a cold hard floor would only result in sickness. Luckily for him, the package has arrived and sits innocently on his front porch, which he then drags inside. Caring less about the preservation of the box, he rips open the package and drags the futon out towards the living room, feeling far too dead on his feet to drag it up the stairs towards the master bedroom.

He then goes straight back for the pillows and blanket, before setting it up in a way that brings comfort to him. The fluffy purple blanket, one of the few colors he was banned from owning in any form as it was too  _ girly,  _ fits perfectly on the futon and is paired with a white pillow. He quickly sets his alarm for 10am, an hour before the movers are meant to arrive and charges his phone. It’d be annoying if it were to die throughout the night

Slowly getting himself into bed, not really caring to get himself in pajamas, Li Wei finds himself falling off into a fitful sleep full of dreams of  _ what ifs. _


	3. New Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Implications of self-harm, as well as the action)

**LI WEI STARES PROUDLY AT HIS FURNISHED LIVING ROOM-** as it was the last room that needed to be completely furnished. This proud feeling was something Li Wei didn’t feel very often, as many of his accomplishments felt very artificial at best. He knew that ice skating was something he was a prodigy in and yet, despite his love for the sport, he no longer finds passion in it.

The last week had been very busy for Li Wei, making it difficult to contact Hinata to do anything other than set up his house. He found himself constantly apologizing to Hinata, as he felt as though he was letting down his only friend. Luckily for him, Hinata could care less and instead offered his help in finishing up his house. 

The last week also brought some joyful surprises, such as getting far closer to Hinata than he could ever imagine was possible for someone like him. The two moved away from the ‘san’ prefix and moved onto ‘kun’, an improvement in Li Wei’s books. He wasn’t quite ready for the exchanging of first names. Li Wei also found himself flinching less and less whenever Hinata became more affectionate per say. It took time for Li Wei to understand Hinata’s actions as friendly rather than romantic, because if it were romantic, they’d need to have a very intensive conversation.

Li Wei would never abandon Hinata, who is his first real friend, but he could never be  _ that _ . No, he would rather die than be sent back to that  _ man  _ if his parents ever found out he was switching again. Trapped within his own thoughts and fears, Li Wei didn’t notice the loud beeping produced by his cell phone. He was far too deep at the moment, something that usually happened whenever he recalled his horrendous experience at the conversion therapy place he went to. It was one of the few memories that created a deep seeded resentment within Li Wei.

Finally, Li Wei awoke from his thoughts and hastily answered the phone, knowing it could really be only one person. “Hello?” Li Wei asked in a cautious whisper. Though he was sure it was Hinata, he didn’t want to take any chances and give away who he was as he had forgotten to check the caller id. Luckily, he was right on the money.

“LI-KUN!! Wanna go practice volleyball?!? You said you’d show me all your WOAH moves and and it hasn’t happened yet-.” Li Wei could almost see the pout visible on Hinata’s face. He had told Hinata he’d practice with him before school started, but had yet to fulfill that as Li Wei had been fairly busy. Chuckling a bit, Li Wei cut off Hinata’s continuous rambling. “Alright Hinata-kun, we can practice volleyball together. How about you come over to my place and we can walk to wherever you decide is the best practice area?” He questioned, unsure if Hinata would want to follow his advice. It was a silly thing to doubt, but Li Wei wasn’t used to anyone taking his thoughts or ideas into consideration as he had to follow a particular mold.

Hinata almost wanted to groan the unsure tone his friend was giving him. He’s not the brightest crayon in the box, but it was fairly easy to notice how out of depth Li Wei was on the topic of what was socially acceptable between friends. At first, Hinata thought he just didn’t enjoy being touched or was unsure how to accommodate his more energetic personality, but those thoughts were dashed when Li Wei began to give subtle hints. He would look at Hinata like a lost puppy whenever something so basic about friendship would come up. The most telling sign was when Li Wei asked him, “If you hug a friend, does that mean you like them romantically?”. It was eye opening because platonic hugging is so normal between friends and yet, Li Wei had no idea about that. Hinata had one goal when it came to Li Wei and that was to help him become more comfortable with platonic affection, something he assumed Li Wei sorely lacked. Noticing he hadn’t spoken in a while, Hinata quickly assured Li Wei. “Yeah! That’s fine!! We’re gonna have so much fun. I’ll show you all my moves and tell you all about my ‘Race to Ace’ plan!” 

Li Wei sighed in relief before saying goodbye to Hinata, as he needed to get himself ready in workout clothing. During the week, Li Wei had also gone shopping for whatever he would need in the future, such as more groceries, household goods, and clothing. He did not want to walk around in brand name clothing, which he owned far too much of. Li Wei had bought himself plenty of comfortable clothing and new workout clothing, as most of his clothing for working out was geared towards ice skating. He needed shorts and tank tops, not long pants nor long sweatshirts. 

Li Wei grabbed some black shorts and a white tank top, before quickly changing into them. He checked himself out in the mirror, noticing the small lines filling up his arms and legs. Groaning, he grabbed a bright green sweater and covered his arms, knowing he couldn’t really cover his legs unless he wore long pants..which would probably make Hinata ask more questions. He really liked Hinata and didn’t want to ever burden him with his past, therefore he would keep quiet if asked any red-flag like questions. 

He walked downstairs and grabbed a red backup he bought, filling it with healthy snacks such as fruits and water in case they got hungry while practicing. He was admittedly nervous about showing Hinata what he could do. Without anyone to really give him feedback, he was sure he was at a beginner level and had no real special moves, aside from the few he made himself. 

About to spiral into more negative thoughts, Li Wei was startled by the ringing of his door bell. Hastily making his way towards the door, he opened it up and wasn’t entirely surprised by the sudden handful of orange he held in his hands. He suppressed another flinch, still not used to hugs. “Hello Hinata-kun, how are you?” Li Wei gently asked, having not really gotten to ask Hinata while on the phone. “AH! I’M GREAT. I get to finally see you play!!” Hinata exclaimed excitedly, basically dragging Li Wei out of his house.

Li Wei locked the door behind him, before allowing Hinata to continue dragging him, knowing that he would never intentionally hurt or mislead him. It didn’t take very long to arrive at what seemed to be Hinata’s home. “Hinata-kun, if we were just going to your home, wouldn’t it have been easier if I just came to you instead?” Li Wei questioned, not understanding why Hinata would take time out of his day to walk to his home without really needing to. Was this another perk of having friends? 

Hinata moved his hand from Li Wei’s wrist and onto his hand, holding it a bit firmly. “A-ah, I just wanted to hang out with you more..” He pouts, staring at Li Wei. Hinata can feel himself blush a bit, unable to control himself in front of someone so gorgeous. How is he supposed to stay neutral when those pretty emerald eyes look towards him for help?? 

Li Wei firmly believes the blush Hinata is sporting is because he is flustered for being caught and simply chuckles at him. “I like being with you too, but if you wanted to hang out more, you could stay over for a sleepover sometime. I’ve heard those are exciting.” Li Wei’s eyes sparkle a bit, having heard wonders of sleepovers from his ‘friends’ but he was never allowed to participate. It was too girly according to his parents. He always found it hypocritical of them as they never saw ice skating as being too girly or feminine, but sleepovers were always off limits. He wouldn’t let that stop him anymore. 

Hinata gave Li Wei a firm hug, before dragging him inside his house. His home was fairly traditional and had a large enough backyard to create a half-sized volleyball court. He often used it to practice over the summer when he could no longer use his middle school’s gym. Hinata dragged Li Wei straight to the backyard, not really willing to deal with his ever energetic young sister, Natsu. Luckily, they made it all the way to the backyard without any interruptions and Hinata could feel the excitement within his bones. “Cmon!! Show me all your moves!!” Hinata yelled out, jumping up and down in front of Li Wei.

Li Wei felt a bit flustered by the action because Hinata looked like a tiny puppy begging to be pet but he wouldn’t do that. It was too  _ intimate _ for Li Wei. He had a fairly skewed sense of what was appropriate and what wasn’t, which meant that for some odd reason, head pats were simply too outlandish. “Alright, give me a second.” Li Wei went to the other side of the court and grabbed the volleyball that lay innocently on the ground. The only position he felt fairly confident in was libero as he learned how to constantly dig whenever his mother decided he needed to learn how to catch any of her items. That was one punishment he was glad to never deal with again, but it helped his volleyball skills. 

With the ball in his hands, Li Wei tossed it up, waiting for the exact moment before serving it. This is the moment where Hinata learns that Li Wei was either dishonest with him or completely unaware of his skill set level. The ball literally zoomed past him, hitting the back right corner, leaving Hinata no time to react. 

Gawking, Hinata stares at Li Wei as if he were a prodigy of sorts. “Y-you…….WOAH!!! THAT BALL WAS LIKE  _ WHOOSH _ ...I-IT WENT SO FAST I THINK MY LIFE FLASHED BEFORE MY EYES. YOU SAID YOU WERE AT A BEGINNER LEVEL?!?” Hinata watches as Li Wei splutters, his face turning as red as a tomato. 

“I-i..didn’t have anyone to practice with…”He trails off quietly, unsure if Hinata is upset at him. He twiddles his thumbs, anxiously awaiting Hinata’s verdict. “THAT WAS AMAZING!!! TEACH ME THAT!” Hinata exclaims, before continuing on. “LET'S PLAY MORE!!!” Before the two even realize, a few hours pass by and Hinata realizes that Li Wei is pretty awful at some of the positions, such as setter. He can’t seem to find the right amount of strength to use. 

Li Wei offers to buy dinner for Hinata, as a sort of thank-you gesture for helping him realize his faults. His friend adamantly refuses, trying to explain how it isn’t necessary to buy things or dinners for friends just because they helped you out. It takes Hinata a bit to really push that message into Li Wei’s head, but once it gets through, Li Wei bows down and apologizes. 

“Ahhah it’s fine! Tomorrow we’re gonna finally be Karasuno volleyball members! We should meet up before school starts!!” Hinata says, wanting to walk to school with Li wei. They would walk together, eat lunch together, and fall in love together- Hinata shakes his head away from those thoughts, not yet ready to admit the small crush he has on his very beautiful friend. 

Li Wei on the other hand hastily agrees to Hinata’s request, feeling a bit unnerved now that reality is setting in and classes begin tomorrow. He’s about to say goodbye but quickly turns to Hinata to tell him something, “I think i’m going to apply for a manager at first as I believe i’ll be on the sidelines and hate not doing anything.” He explains, wanting to clear up Hinata’s drooping expression. It’s true that he often kept himself busy as he had a crazy schedule back home, leaving him to feel antsy when he wasn’t doing much. 

Hinata pouts a bit, having wanted to play with his friend asap on the same team, but he sort of understands the reasoning. Despite how great his friend is at serving and playing libero, there’s a low chance that there is no libero already on the team and Li Wei may not be up to the right standards. Grumbling, Hinata nods towards Li Wei to show his acceptance on the matter, before hugging him goodbye. 

Li Wei finds himself walking back home alone, having had a lovely day. He still needs to eat dinner, but with his nerves slowly building up, he finds himself craving some spicy cup noodles. He’s scared that people will treat him again like an untouchable god of sorts, something he definitely isn’t. The isolation he found himself in led him to truly hate the school he attended back in Beijing, though he found he hated the fake friends more. 

Groaning, Li Wei opens the door to his home and scours the kitchen for the cup noodles, throwing some water in a kettle to boil. He gently pours the water in and covers up the lid using some chopsticks, before removing his sweater. The stickiness upon his skin made him want to jump straight into the shower, but the growling of his stomach made him stay put.

Li Wei eats fairly slowly, his mind plagued by thoughts of  _ what if _ , unsure if tomorrow will either be a truly new start or a major disaster. What if there is no place for him on the team? What if Hinata finds better friends and he sees him less and less? What if it’s truly no different than his old school but instead of people flocking to him for status, they’d instead flock to him for his looks but not his personality? 

These thoughts consumed him as he trashed the finished cup noodles into the garbage bin and made his ways upstairs, intent on taking a warm shower. He grabs a pair of shorts and t-shirt, never having been comfortable enough to sleep in his boxers. It was probably due to the scars that littered his body, making him feel unworthy of anyone gazing upon it. 

The water was scalding but Li Wei paid no attention to it, as his mind continued to spiral downwards. He  _ needed _ a way to ground himself, so he found his way out of the shower and towards the razor that sat innocently upon his sink. He hated the scars upon his body, yet he constantly added to them. 

He brought the blade across his skin, watching emotionlessly as tiny red beads formed upon his skin. It brought him the strangest bit of comfort knowing that he could control what scars exactly were going on his body. He didn’t add many this time around, only a few and found himself gently cleaning the cuts. 

Li Wei stared into the mirror, his eyes duller than ever. Instead of the bright emerald color they’d always been, his eyes now resemebled a dull gem that was casually thrown away. This was a side to him that he never really showed anyone, not wanting to give any person that amount of power over him. Was it healthy? No, it clearly wasn’t, but it was the only self-destructive behavior he found himself partaking in. He had wanted to drink his sorrows away, but the fear of being caught drunk at home outweighed the possible joy he would’ve found at being drunk out of his mind.

Leaving the bathroom, Li Wei turned off the lights in his room, leaving on a small nightlight he’d found in a nearby store. It produced a multitude of colors, all of which made him feel a tiny bit better. He finally changed into his pj’s and crawled into bed, unwilling to think anymore about tomorrow. It was only 9pm, but he felt it was way into the night. Li Wei placed his alarm for 6:30am, hopefully giving him enough time to get ready, eat, and walk with Hinata. 

The worries of tomorrow slowly faded away as Li Wei fell into a peaceful sleep. His eyes fluttered close and his breathing became steady. He curled up into a ball, as if protecting himself from a monster hiding beneath the bed. 


	4. The Team of Crows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Implications of abuse, torture, and self-harm. Thoughts of self-doubt and death)

**_LI WEI FOUND HIMSELF SKATING IN THE OLYMPICS_ ** _ -surrounded by adoring fans and the like. He was preparing himself for a quadruple jump, into a triple axel, and finishing with a salchow. He felt alive for the first time in  _ **_years_ ** _ , knowing that if he won the gold, maybe his parents would finally be proud of him. Just as he was about to jump, the ice beneath him shattered and no longer could he hear the audience. The world around turned dark as he slowly fell into the freezing water, his mind whirling. Li Wei tried to get onto another piece of ice, unwilling to drown right before his olympic routine, but he just  _ **_couldn’t_ ** _.  _

_ Chains latched around his arms and legs, dragging him further and further down the ocean. He couldn’t breathe at all and could only watch the light get smaller and smaller up above. His parent’s cruel laughter was the only sound he could hear as he succumbed to his fate. Terror filled his eyes, knowing that it was all over. He wanted to  _ **_die_ ** _. He was about to be in their clutches when the world around him suddenly lit up- _

Li Wei jumped up from his bed, sweat visible everywhere. “It was just a dream..” He muttered, tears falling from his eyes. His hands were still shaking as he could almost feel the chains still latched onto him. He slowly turned his head towards his alarm clock, ‘4:03am’ it read. Li wei wiped the tears from his eyes as he slowly got up from his bed, knowing going back to sleep would be pointless. 

He sauntered over to the shower, wanting to drown himself in some form of warmth. When he got in, his mind was plagued with thoughts of how  _ stupid _ he was for thinking he was able to have a peaceful sleep. Nightmares were so common for Li Wei that his sleep schedule was fairly messed up. Some nights were fine, but then the nightmares would come back with a vengeance. The water burned his skin, especially his newest cuts, but Li Wei didn’t care, instead he was punishing himself for being foolish. 

Rules from his other ‘home’ were deeply embedded in his mind. Rule 1: Don’t ever talk back. Rule 2: Eating is only to be done when given permission. Rule 3:  _ Never _ be late. Rule 4: Keep close contact with connections, an opportunity can never slip away. Rule 5: If a rule is broken without anyone being aware of it, perform a punishment on self. Rule 6: Make no noise throughout the night. Li Wei often broke rule 6, considering how often he had nightmares. It took years for him to master silent sobs and he usually slept with a gag of sorts in his mouth to prevent himself from screaming. 

Though no one was around to punish him, Li Wei constantly tried to follow rules 5 and 6, simply because he messed up so often. Rule 2 wasn’t much of an issue as no one would call him out on eating whenever, but the other rules still terrified him. Anyone else would say it was silly of him to follow rules that no longer pertain to him, but some habits are simply hard to break away from.

Turning off the shower, Li Wei gently covered himself in a robe as his scars continued to sting. Luckily, they were upon his shoulders, somewhere no one would check and where he could easily state was just muscle pains. He dried his hair naturally, unwilling to damage something that brought him both pain and comfort. 

Golden rays shimmered throughout his room, signifying the sunrise on the horizon. Li Wei grabbed the black gakuran, a white collared shirt, and the black pants, changing into them slowly. He didn’t feel great mentally today whatsoever and his nerves returned tenfold once the uniform was completely on. Feeling himself getting more worked up by the second, Li Wei clenched his fists tightly and let the pain bring him back to the present.

The time now read 6am, leaving Li Wei with far too much time before Hinata would arrive, so he grabbed his brown bag and went downstairs. The quietness of the household added onto the loneliness Li Wei felt, wondering if maybe it was time to get a pet of sorts. He wasn’t allowed any and felt as though having an animal would help him overcome things. 

Once downstairs, Li Wei decided to eat a small cereal bar, feeling as though he would throw up otherwise. The anxiety lay in wait, preparing itself to knock Li Wei off guard at the last second. Throwing up was something Li Wei  _ despised.  _ Tears would escape his eyes whenever he vomited and would land him in far too much trouble than it was worth.  _ ‘A young man shouldn’t be so sensitive. _ ’ His father would embed those ideas into him, making it difficult to forgive himself whenever he broke down. 

Time passed by slowly as Li Wei waited for Hinata to arrive. He was scrolling through his phone, reading article after article about the newest scandals in the entertainment world. It fascinated him how easily people believed one person without hearing the other’s side. Then again, maybe that was just human nature. Sympathy was a sure way to garner support. 

Li Wei suddenly jumped up when he heard 3 harsh knocks on the door. Taking a second to calm his fast beating heart, he quickly made his way over and opened the door, once again welcoming a tangerine into his arms. Excitement was clearly visible on Hinata’s face, probably from the knowledge that he’d join the volleyball team today. 

“Lets go! LETS GO!!” Hinata excitedly said, dragging Li Wei right out of the house. Hinata only let go for a moment so that Li Wei could lock the door, but then he was brought all the way to Hinata’s red bike. He sat on the seat, while Hinata decided to bike standing up, otherwise they wouldn’t fit at all. 

The ride to Karasuno was peaceful, Hinata chattered about whatever he wanted to while Li Wei would simply listen. The only upsetting conversation they had was the realization they would be in different classes. Hinata was in class 1-1, while Li Wei was in 1-5, the most advanced class. Li Wei promised Hinata that he would eat lunch with him whenever he wanted so that they could still be with each other while in separate classes.

“AH!” Hinata suddenly yelled out, starting Li Wei. “What is it Hinata-kun? Are you alright?” Li Wei became a bit frantic, worried his friend was hurt or freaked out. “I forgot!! Classes don’t start today, but club sign-ups do.” Hinata exclaimed,  _ so _ excited to join the volleyball team, whereas Li Wei was annoyed. He had worried for  _ nothing _ .

When they arrived, Li Wei had unintentionally placed his mask back on, exuding an aura of superiority without really meaning to. Hinata found it crazy how Li Wei could go from an unsure lost puppy to a  _ king.  _

“Lets go sign up!!” Hinata yelled out and ran towards the volleyball building. Li Wei groaned, before jogging after Hinata. It was odd to him how club sign-ups were done before classes began but he assumed that’s just how it was in Japanese schools. 

Hinata pushed open the doors to the volleyball gym, all excited to join the team, when his eyes landed on a tall black-haired boy. “Why is he here?!?” He exclaimed, annoyed at seeing the person he declared as his rival going for the  **same** team. 

Li Wei walks into an interesting scene within the gym, courtesy of Hinata and another boy. The two seemingly go back and forth, not necessarily fighting but clearly not getting along. Aside from them, there are 3 other students also in the gym. 

In the distance the 3 are talking with one another. “The first setter of Kitagawa is on our team?” Sawamura Daichi muttered out. Tanaka Ryuunosuke seemed a bit put off by the idea, “But the guy’s totally cocky.” Sugawara Koushi was a bit nervous by the way Tanaka was acting, “Don’t try and intimidate him, okay?” It was at that moment that Tanaka felt betrayed that his teammates would ever think that. “I-I wouldn’t do something like that.” He huffed out.

Li Wei awkwardly stood by the bleachers, watching as the black-haired boy, Kageyama Tobio, introduced himself to the 3 students whose names he had yet to learn. The grey-haired one in particular seemed impressed by Kageyama’s height of 180cm, while the delinquent-looking character seemed bothered. Not necessarily in a bad way, but more so in a ‘I’m your senpai, respect me’ way. He also watched as Hinata went on to grab their attention, with Li Wei suddenly realizing he  _ never _ sent in an application.

Panicking, Li Wei attempted to disappear into the background, unsure of what to do. During his panic, he didn’t notice the growing tension between Kageyama and Hinata. He could hear the upperclassmen attempting to get them to calm down, but the two were already riled up. 

“You guys, you know, you’re not enemies anymore. Volleyball is about teamwork-“ Sawamura was beginning to say, but he was cut off by Hinata’s sudden challenge towards Kageyama. Tanaka was annoyed by this, “Hey! Daichi-san is still talking!”, yet his words were ignored. 

The two kept on going, with Sawamura’s irritation slowly growing in leaps and bounds. Li Wei wanted to help Hinata but felt like he wasn’t able to breach the conversation at all. Suddenly, the gym’s door opened up and a man, who was clearly a teacher or staff member of sorts, walked in. “What’s the commotion, volleyball club?” He asked, staring down the team. 

Tanaka attempted to warn the first years of how the vice principal likes to make trouble, but the message clearly wasn’t received. Out of nowhere, Li Wei watches in panic, for Hinata, as a volleyball is ricocheted off of his face, slamming into the vice principal’s face instead. There’s a moment of silence as a wig falls off of the vice principal’s head and lands on Sawamura, who is called over by the man.

It’s evening once Sawamura comes back into the gym, informing the members that no one is being punished, nor are apologies necessary. It’s all on the basis that no one mentions a word of what they say, which is easily agreed to. 

Li Wei watches as both Hinata and Kageyama are kicked out of the gym for being unable to work out whatever issues they had. He’s not really sure what to do by this point so he waits for one of the upperclassmen to notice him. It doesn’t take very long as Li Wei’s presence is strong enough as it is and Sugawara saunters over.

“Hello! What’s your name and intended position? We don’t have an application from you, so it’d be helpful if you could tell us what you are planning to do.” He says gently, unfazed by the cold demeanor visible on Li Wei’s face. If anything, he blushes a bit, noticing just how beautiful Li Wei actually is. Respect towards elders or those older has been ingrained in Li Wei’s mind, so he politely bows to his seniors. “My name is Li Wei and i’d like to become a manager if possible.” 

“Ah! Well, we already have a manager but we wouldn’t mind another, right Daichi-san?” Sugawara turns towards Sawamura, awaiting his reply. Sawamura nods and walks over himself. He has to will away the blush appearing on his cheeks before speaking. “Let me introduce the team to you then Li-san. My name is Sawamura Daichi, a third year and the captain of this team. I play the positions of wing spiker, opposite hitter, and defensive specialist. The one who just spoke to you is Sugawara Koushi, another third year, as well as the vice captain. He is both a setter and pinch server. Lastly, we have Tanaka Ryuunosuke, a second year, who plays as a wing spiker and outside hitter.” Sawamura says, pointing to the other two during the introductions. 

“We also have 3 other members who are currently not here right now. You and the other first year members will be introduced to them tomorrow. There is also our manager, who should be here soon.” Li Wei simply nods, a bit overloaded by the information dump. 

“OI! I’m your senpai!” Tanaka exclaims, pointing dramatically at himself. Li Wei isn’t sure what he wants but utters out a soft, “Tanaka-senpai”, which seems to be the correct answer. “You’re my favorite first year now.” He childishly declares, 110% not blushing the tiniest bit due to Li Wei’s gorgeousness, all while a new person enters the gym. Sugawara hurries to close the door after the person enters.

Li Wei stares at the beautiful black-haired girl who walks straight towards the group. Tanaka is the first to bounce over to her, wanting to help out yet also compliment her. She simply ignores him, seemingly used to the whole spheal. “It turns me on when she ignores me!” Tanaka says to no one. “Ah, there she is. This is our manager, Shimizu Kiyoko, a third year. Kiyoko-san, this is Li Wei, a potential new manager.” He says, while Li Wei bows towards her. 

She makes a ‘follow-me’ motion and Li Wei goes over to her, his cold demeanor disappearing as his anxiety makes a reappearance. “Here, this is the application for managers, please fill it out and bring it to Takeda-sensei. He is our club advisor.” She states, holding out the piece of paper towards him. He takes it and nods to her, feeling a bit out of depth. 

Practice passes by, with Kiyoko teaching Li Wei the basics of being a manager and what is to be expected of him, which he takes in stride. The two end up hitting it off, with Li Wei appearing as a cute lost puppy in Kiyoko’s eyes. She already feels like an older sister to him after having witnessed how unsure he is when it comes to females. It was especially cute when he clearly wanted to grab her attention but wasn’t sure how, so he poked her shoulder. The second that cold demeanor was removed, she was left with a flustered mess of a person.

Li Wei is proud to say he has made his second friend, though she’s very different from Hinata. Kiyoko is a lot more mature and respects his boundaries. If Li Wei was still in Beijing and someone such as Kiyoko existed there, maybe things would’ve been different. She doesn’t fawn over him like many of the girls did at his old school because of his looks nor his status, which the club is unaware of. He still doubts himself with the whole manager concept, unsure if maybe he should just not do it. When explaining these doubts, Kiyoko was kind enough to dispel any questions he may have had and instead motivated him a bit. 

Li Wei still worried about Hinata, who hadn’t come back into the gym yet. Practice was declared to be over and the other members were banking on what the two first years would say in order to get Sawamura to let them join. “They’ll probably say, ‘Let us in if we can beat you in a match”’. Tanaka snickered, while Sugawara agreed that it was a possibility.

The doors suddenly slammed open and Li Wei was taken out of his thoughts. “Captain!” Both boys yelled out, determination marring their features. “Let us challenge you to a match. The two of us against you senpais!” They declared, unwilling to be unable to join the team.

“Are these guys for real?!” Tanaka said in surprise, despite having somewhat predicted it. Li Wei and the others could hear the quiet ‘one, two’ from both Kageyama and Hinata, as if they were counting down on when to speak. “We’ll prove that we can cooperate as a team!” Passion was evident in their tone, leading to Sawamura giving the idea consideration. “And what if you lose?” He questioned, waiting for their reply.

Hinata clearly hadn’t thought that far, letting out a small ‘urk’. Kageyama on the other hand said they’d endure any penalty. “Hmm..Then now’s the time. There are two other first-year applicants besides you guys. It’ll be a three-on-three match against them.” Sawamura stated, confusing Hinata for a second. “But how does it become three-on-three? Who’s our third member?” 

Li Wei was tired by this point, ready to go home and recharge. He’d already screwed up by thinking today  _ was _ the first day of classes, but it actually wasn’t. Today was instead a day for club sign-ups. The largest positive was having Kiyoko as a new friend, but other than that? He feels as though he got worked up for  _ nothing _ . A bit too into his own little world again, Kiyoko gently nudge him, having noticed how Li Wei simply spaced out. “A-ah, thank you Kiyoko-san.” He softly uttered out, flustered that he was caught not paying attention. 

She chucked a bit, “It’s alright, you didn’t miss that much. Tanaka-san will be on Hinata-san’s and Kageyama-san’s team.” Li Wei thanked her, before going back to watching the scene play out. Apparently, if Hinata’s team lost, then Kageyama would never be allowed to play setter as long as the third years were on the team. That means the two  _ were _ on the team.

  
  


Li Wei is intelligent, so he easily picked up on what Sawamura san as doing. By riling Kageyama up, it would cause him to strive to work well with Hinata and Tanaka, instead of doing it all on his own. Li Wei felt a bit bad for Hinata, noticing how he was often overlooked in favor of Kageyama. ‘Hopefully that will change,’ he thought. 

“The game will be Saturday morning.” Sawamura stated, before both Hinata and Kageyama were left outside the gym. The upperclassmen seemed a bit hesitant when it came to whether or not Sawamura was being too harsh or not, but he had the right reasons for it. 

Unlike volleyball, ice skating is a singular sport most of the time, but Li Wei has done routines with a partner. If he was unable to connect with his partner on stage, the entire routine will feel disconnected and be uninteresting for the audience. The same logic applies to volleyball. If a member of one’s team refuses to cooperate with the rest, they have a higher chance of losing or screwing up critical points. 

Li Wei decided it was time to leave, wanting to speak to Hinata about what he and Kageyama were conversing about while they were outside the gym. “Excuse me, I will be leaving. I’ll bring the application to Takeda-sensei tomorrow. Thank you for welcoming me into the club.” He bowed at a 90 degree angle, before straightening back up and waving to the rest of the team as he left the gym. Upon his departure, he was met with an angry Kageyama holding Hinata’s shirt and yelling in his face.

Without even thinking about it, Li Wei quickly walks over and grabs Kageyama’s wrist, harshly pulling him off Hinata. “Don’t touch my friends like that.” Li Wei’s words are laced with venom and his entire demeanor has changed. If looks could kill, Kageyama would be 6 feet under. 

Kageyama is completely thrown off by Li Wei and a bit surprised by the sudden aggression. Hinata on the other hand is trying to calm Li Wei down. “It’s okay!! He didn’t hurt me! We were just arg-..debating! Yeah debating.” Hinata quickly corrects his small slipup, continuing his mission of getting Li Wei to relax. It made him immensely happy to see how protective Li Wei is of him but, this was his issue to deal with. 

Li Wei is still understandably suspicious of the so-called ‘debate’ but gives in when Hinata uses his puppy eyes. He gives Kageyama one last glare before turning back towards Hinata. “Shall we go home, Hinata-kun?” Li Wei asks, wanting to simply go home and relax. 

Hinata is about to answer when he realizes he forgot his bag in the gym, “My bag! I forgot my bag!” He runs back into the gym, leaving Li Wei and Kageyama in an awkward atmosphere with hints of hostility. The two don’t speak, Li Wei finding Kageyama to be unlikeable simply for his transgression against Hinata, while Kageyama is a bit intimidated by Li Wei. 

The atmosphere is broken apart when Hinata pops back outside, seemingly not having noticed anything. Kageyama huffs, “5:00am, don’t be late.” He then completely ignores Li Wei and leaves. Hinata yells back at Kageyama to not be late either, before holding onto Li Wei “Ok, now we can go back!” 

The two get back onto Hinata’s red bike, with Hinata telling Li Wei all about his time with Kageyama. The two seem to have more complications with one another and Li Wei isn’t sure how the two will really work out together. He’s still upset at Kageyama, unable to understand the sudden violence used against Hinata.

Li Wei hates physical violence in general, having been susceptible to it for years with no real reason. He doesn’t feel that anyone  _ should  _ use violence unless it is in self-defense. He hadn’t mentioned it to Hinata, but he was scared, frightened even. If Kageyama is willing to be violent over a small argument, who knows how far he would go. 

When the two arrive at Li Wei’s home, they say goodbye to one another. Just as Li Wei is about to enter his home, Hinata yells out to him, “Be at the gym at 5:00am!!,” before he is biking away rapidly. 

When Li Wei gets inside, he grabs a pen from his school bag and fills out the application, unwilling to procrastinate. The day had been stressful and tiring, especially considering his mental state. Being at the club made many of his awful thoughts stay away but once he was alone, they all came back. 

_ Is there any reason for him to join?  _ He felt like an outsider for most of his time with the club, only really connecting with Kiyoko. He wants to play volleyball, but if he can’t connect with the team, it’d just be lonely. He’s also worried about Hinata staying around him less. His friend won’t ever abandon him, but now he’ll make new friends and  _ they’ll have less time together. _

He knows he sounds like a whiny child who lost his toy to some other child, but Hinata is his first friend and he was so  _ grateful _ for the attention and time Hinata gave him. Losing some of that would admittedly hurt.

Having finished the application, Li Wei makes some cup noodles, eating it while watching tv. He feels lethargic by this point and quickly finishes his meal. Walking up the stairs at the pace of a snail, Li Wei finally makes it to his room, throwing off his clothing as soon as he could. He put himself into comfortable pj’s and set the alarm for 5:00am, praying that he’d actually get some sleep. 

Hopefully tomorrow would be better, yet classes do actually start so he isn’t sure. He was thankful that no one on the team fawned over him, but there is a high chance tomorrow will simply be worse. 

With worrisome thoughts on his mind, Li Wei falls into a deep sleep.


	5. The First Day and Officially Becoming a Manager pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Small implication of abuse/torture)

**LI WEI’S ALARM BLARRED THROUGHOUT THE ROOM-** causing him to groggily wake up in both annoyance and disappoint. He’d rather stay in bed and leave closer to when classes would start, rather than find himself at Karasuno’s gym at 5 in the morning. With a large groan, the emerald-eyed teenager quickly changes into Karasuno's uniform, preferring to shower after the long gruelling day that is sure to happen. 

With both his bag and application in hand, Li Wei quickly goes downstairs to eat an energy bar, sure to need it for the upcoming school day. The blatant anxiety he felt yesterday is slowly reaching into the depths of his mind, causing the gorgeous male distress. His worries are not necessarily unfounded, as being above average in appearance tends to bring one attention. 

The energy bar is gone within a few bites as Li Wei walks outside, locking the door behind him. He had texted Hinata that morning to come close to 4:30am, so he sat on his porch and waited, letting the soft breeze of the morning flow around him. The sun was beginning to rise and all Li Wei could do was feel blessed in a sense to be able to watch it rise peacefully. Humming a small tune from his childhood, the male almost doesn’t notice the sounds of a bell from a bicycle being rung in order to get his attention.

“LI-KUN!!! Lets GOGOGOGO!” Hinata yelled out, excitement exuding off of his very being. The only thing the tangerine wanted to do was make the volleyball team and he needed all the practice he could get. The taller male chucked a bit, before hopping onto the back of Hinata’s bicycle. 

The two don’t really speak much, with Hinata consumed by his own thoughts of practicing volleyball and making the team, while Li Wei worries about his first day of classes. Emerald eyes gaze up upon the sky, wondering how he was easily convinced to call Kiyoko by her first name when he hadn’t reached that level with his first friend, Hinata. The current manager of Karasuno had been fairly adamant that he call her by her first name, as despite the fact that she was his upperclassmen, Kiyoko said they would be working closely together and it would feel more natural if he was more informal with her. Li Wei was never great under pressure in terms of his peers as he lacked many true friends, so he honestly would do anything to make them happy, including calling them by whatever pleases them most.

When they arrive at Karasuno, the only other students around are those from clubs who have morning practices. “Hinata-kun, I am going to drop off the application and get to my class early. I will meet you at practice after the day ends.” He casually states, before walking off towards the school building. Hinata yells out in agreement before scurrying off towards the gym for the ‘ _ secret practice _ ’.

Li Wei makes his way towards the teacher’s office, praying that someone is already there. The closer he gets however, the less hope he has. Once he arrives in front of the teacher’s office, he notices all the lights are off and sighs, knowing he’ll have to wait. Standing in place for hours on end isn’t necessarily a bother to him, having done that plenty of times as  _ punishment _ , with a few whips here and there. Standing around and waiting for a teacher is nothing compared to what he used to go through, so Li Wei stands and waits. He’s completely lost within his mind, leading him unable to hear the jangle of keys and the footsteps of a person getting closer and closer to him.

Takeda Ittetsu, an average man with messy black hair and brown eyes that are covered by classes, has been rushing to get to his office when he notices a male student who is a bit taller than him seemingly staring into nothing. He slowly walks up to the student before poking him to get his attention, watching as the student becomes startled. Chuckling a bit, he asks the startled student if he is looking for a specific teacher or needs help.

Quickly bowing down at a 90 degree angle, Li Wei gives the teacher in front of him an introduction. “Hello, my name is Li Wei and I am a first year student in class 1-5. I am looking for Takeda-sensei to give him an application to become a volleyball manager.” A bit caught off guard by the statement, Takeda takes a second to react. “Ah! Well, come in come in! I’m Takeda-sensei, the boy’s volleyball team advisor and i’m happy to take the application off of you.” He gently smiles, making a ‘follow me’ motion with his hands and steps into the office. There are plenty of desks for each different teacher, full of papers to possibly grade and other personal items. 

Once inside, Takeda quickly places his things on his desk before turning towards the newest manager and grabbing the application. “You are the only student who has applied for the position of manager so I am happy to accept you as one! You will work with Shimizu-san on the team.” He happily states, but notices how Li Wei seems a bit hesitant. “Is something the matter, Li-san?”. The gorgeous male is a bit nervous, knowing he won’t be a manager for his entire time throughout highschool. “I-..I plan to become a player eventually so I don’t think I will stay as a manager for long..” Li Wei trails off, nervous that he may have upset the club advisor. He was always taught to never speak back to authority figures and though  _ he was asked _ if he was alright, he still feels as though he did just that. 

Luckily, his fears are all for naught as Takeda-sensei reassures him that it’s alright. “Don’t worry Li-san! Shimizu-san has actually told me she will eventually look for another manager on her own time, so if you decide to switch to becoming a player, the team will be alright.” His gentle smiles calm Li Wei down completely, so he bows down in thanks before saying goodbye, planning on going to class. 

Class 1-5 isn’t too far away from the teacher’s office, but it feels as though it takes forever for Li Wei to get there. His arrogant aura and emotionless mask was put up the second he noticed the large amount of students filtering through the building. He has already heard the whispers from those he passed by, making him lose hope in finding even more friends that aren’t involved in volleyball. A sigh passes through his lips as his eyes lock onto the door to class 1-5, before he gently opens it up. There aren’t many students within the class yet so Li Wei searches for his seat. Next to him is a petite blonde with light brown eyes who looks as though someone ran over her puppy, as she shakes with fear. Li Wei hopes he isn’t the cause for her nervousness but once he takes a look at her, she squeaks and turns away.

Yachi Hitoka has never been good with those taller than her and well, boys. Her nerves constantly get the better of her as her overactive imagination often comes up with worst case scenarios. Sitting right next to her is probably one of the most beautiful guys she has ever seen, but that cold expression makes her want to hide away and cry. Yachi’s entire body shivers when she completely turns from the guy, not wanting to accidentally embarrass herself in front of him and later find out he is some yakuza guy. 

Neither of the two make any conversation with one another as Li Wei still cannot figure out how he scared the poor girl and Yachi fears the guy next to her could kill her with one phone call. Somehow, the atmosphere between the two makes the rest of the class feel a bit nervous as well and it only breaks when the teacher walks in, readying themself to teach their new class. This is also the start of the two’s odd friendship that was built off of complete misunderstandings.

When the class ends and lunch comes around, Li Wei is on a hunt for Hinata to share his first lunch with. He had packed some energy bars and chips for himself because he was simply too tired to care this morning. Li Wei completely ignores the squealing girls and irked guys he passes by, choosing to put his energy into searching for his friend. Finding Hinata takes a while, noticing that he is practicing with Sugawara outside. 

Just as Li Wei is about to walk over to Hinata, he is stopped by the blueberry haired guy who hurt his friend. The emerald eyed male is about to ask why the hell he’s being stopped but is quickly stopped by a shushing motion from Kageyama. Li Wei doesn’t have to listen to Kageyama but he also doesn’t want to intrude on Hinata and Sugawara, so he stays by the vending machine along with Kageyama, simply listening to their conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 will be up on Wednesday!


	6. The First Day and Officially Becoming a Manager pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Implied/mentions of abuse)

**PERSONALLY, LI WEI WOULD LIKE TO BE AS FAR AWAY FROM KAGEYAMA AS POSSIBLE-** not really enjoying the seemingly violent male’s company. He knows that Kageyama won’t necessarily do anything to him, but the idea of possibly anything happening makes him nervous. Leaning against the vending machine, the jewel-eyed manager stares up at the bright blue sky, forgetting all his worries for just a second.

Sadly, that second ends too soon for Li Wei. “Oi, why is the boke practicing during his lunch break?” Kageyama stares at Li Wei, as if he had all the answers. Sighing, the manager thinks of the best way to describe Hinata’s reasoning without possibly setting the guy off, still uncomfortable being around him. “Hinata-kun wants to be the ace of the team and a powerful pillar to the team, but he currently lacks the skills to do so. He especially wants to be good enough for you, even though he shouldn’t have to prove anything. Therefore, with all his excitement regarding volleyball, of course he would take any opportunity he has to get better, especially if the help is offered to him.” He finishes off, before walking away. The lunch break is about to end and Li Wei hasn’t eaten anything, but he has no time to dwell on that now as he makes his way to class. 

When class is over, Li Wei packs up all his belongings slowly, not seeing any reason to rush as he isn’t a team player, just the manager. Yachi, on the other hand, packs her belongings as if she is being held at gunpoint, shivering every two seconds. It’s not a great feeling for Li Wei, knowing he’s somehow the cause of her fear. He never wanted to be similar to his parents in that regard, so he thinks on how to get her..less fearful of him. Unknown to Li Wei, his thinking face sends shivers into the spines of every member of the class, Yachi especially. The emerald-eyed man looks as though he’s a king about to execute an unruly subject. 

Just as he is about to use his plan to make the girl less scared of him, she has already left the classroom in a hurry and Li Wei wants to cry a bit, feeling like a failure for not easing her fears. Biting his lip, he makes his way towards the gymnasium with a despairing atmosphere, scaring many of his male classmates yet looking  _ hot  _ to his female classmates. Far too lost within his own thoughts, Li Wei doesn’t notice how he makes the other students feel at the moment.

The sound of squeaking from multiple shoes and count-downs fills Li Wei’s ears as he makes his way into the gym, noticing how all the boys are doing their exercises before practicing. Not wanting to disturb any of the boys, Li Wei walks over to the side of the gym and simply waits for his chance to speak to both the captain and Hinata, who he has tried to see all day. He finally thinks his chance is upon him when it comes to speaking with the captain, but notices how Hinata has yet to arrive. Understandably worried, Li Wei quickly texts Hinata but doesn’t get a response as fast as he usually does. “Sawamura-san!” He calls out, watching as the captain quickly walks over. “Yes Li-san? Is something the matter?” It warms Li Wei's heart a bit knowing the captain, who has only known him for a day, already worries for him. “Ah, I have officially become a manager. I just wanted to let you know.” The newest manager bows down and smiles at the captain’s hearty laugh. “Well! Now that we’re officially teammates, call me Daichi instead. Sawamura makes me feel as though i’m in trouble.” Li Wei is caught off guard by the request, still getting used to calling the other manager by her first name. He nods, flustered, not noticing the subtle blush resting upon Daichi’s face. 

Time slowly passes by and Daichi stares at both Sugawara and Tanaka as they yawn. “You guys sound sleepy..” He says suspiciously, causing the two to shiver and jump at the sound of the captain’s voice. They try to play it off. “Oh, y-you think so? Maybe I studied too much.” Sugawara nervously laughs, rubbing the back of his head. “M-me too. I studied…” Tanaka trails off, which causes Sugawara to yell at him in a small voice. “Nobody will buy that from you!” Tanaka is surprised, but is luckily saved by the arrival of two new faces.

“Excuse me.” A tall blonde with golden-browns eyes and glasses says. Next to him is a smaller guy who has dark grayish-green hair and freckles. Daichi doesn’t seem surprised by their arrival whatsoever, “Hey, you made it. These are the first year students who’ll be joining us. New club members were supposed to be introduced next week, but we’re having a match this Saturday..” Daichi explains, while Li Wei hears a small voice from a group of 3 members he also hasn’t been introduced to. “They’re big.” The tallest of the 3 states, who has a shaved head that is darker. The one in the middle, with medium-length dark brown hair and slightly down-turned eyes, agrees. 

Li Wei turns back towards Daichi, who finishes off with, “That’ll be the true test of your skills.” The shorter boy bows down, “Pleased to meet you.” Li Wei finds the politeness very sweet, as that was something always ingrained with him. He walks up to them, with the intention of introducing himself, but stops. “Ah, D-Daichi-san, would you bring everyone over so I can introduce myself officially?” The captain agrees, grabbing the attention of all the members. Leaving the stage for him, Li Wei swallows his nervousness away. “Hello, my name is Li Wei. I’m a first year in class 1-5 and the newest manager of this time, I hope to get along with all of you.” He quickly bows down, hoping his formality doesn’t turn anyone away. 

Luckily, everything goes fine. He is formally introduced to the 3 upperclassmen he hadn’t seen before. Kazuhito Narita, Chikara Ennoshita, and Hisashi Kinoshita. All 3 are very sweet, especially Ennoshita. He reminds him of the captain a bit. Practice moves on from there and Li Wei is saddened by the notion that Hinata still hasn’t responded to him. His deteriorating mood is noticed by the vice-captain, but he tells Sugawara that he’ll be alright. By the time practice is over, Li Wei is fed up.

It sounds clingy, but he had told Hinata his fears of having a similar experience to the one he had in Beijing, so he thought his friend would at least see him before he left the school. A sigh leaves his lips as the moonlight shines upon him. If a model scout passed by at that exact moment, Li Wei would’ve been scouted in a flash. 

The walk home is lonely, but that all changes when he passes by a nearby park. He notices all 4 other first years, including Hinata, seemingly in a confrontation of sorts. Quickly walking over, he tries to break the clear tension visible in the air. “Is everything alright over here?” Li Wei’s voice surprises all present members, with Hinata looking at him as if he were a savior of sorts. “Don’t you worry your pretty head, manager-kun.” Tsukishima taunts, “I’m simply talking to the simpleton idiot and the king, all in good nature. Just a little rivalry.” He turns back to both Hinata and Kageyama. “It might be an important match for you two, but it doesn’t matter to me at all. I’m not worried about winning or losing, so if you two really need to win, I can go easy on you if you’d like.” That statement pisses Hinata and Kageyama, with Li Wei uncomfortable by the tension that has returned full-force. The most tension is between Kageyama and Tsukishima, the latter of whom keeps taunting him with his past title. 

When it finally escalates to the point where Kageyama grips the collar of Tsukishima’s uniform, Li Wei wants to take Hinata and run far away. Memories begin to unfold before him, all of which highlight the fists he’d constantly be beaten down with. Phantom pains appear all around his body, as if he was currently being beaten up. He doesn’t notice when only Hinata remains, worry written all over his face, as he re-lives some of his most painful memories. “-kun, LI-KUN! HELLO!” Finally, Li Wei is broken from his thoughts, sweat running down his face and back. Heavily breathing, Li Wei holds onto Hinata as though he’d disappear otherwise. 

“I..sorry Hinata-kun, today hasn’t been all that amazing.” Slowly, Li Wei uses the tree near him to fully stand, feeling awful. It feels as though a train has hit him at full force. “It’s okay!!!” Hinata quickly reassures him, before leading Li Wei to his bicycle. The two don’t speak much after that, with Hinata asking if he’s alright and himself just nodding, too tired to speak. 

Once home, Li Wei cooks himself a hearty soup full of vegetables to get his mind off things, before retiring for the night. The next few days pass by with not many notable things happening, aside from Hinata overworking himself to the point of vomiting all over the gym floor and Yachi finally becoming more comfortable with him. They even had a sentence long conversation! It feels silly to be proud of that, but Yachi doesn’t fawn over him, similar to Kiyoko and is pretty interesting. Everything honestly feels better, with Li Wei forging bonds with his team that will forever exist. He also spoke with Hinata, having forgiven him for unintentionally ignoring him due to his obsession with getting on the team. 

Finally, Saturday is upon them and Li Wei awaits for the beginning of the match, noticing that all members are finally present. 


	7. 3-on-3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Very subtle mentions of physical/mental abuse)

**LI WEI WAS ADMITTEDLY NERVOUS FOR HINATA BEYOND BELIEF-** oh he trusted his friend very much, but Hinata’s issues with the other member of his team made it difficult to believe they would succeed at all. The two continuously fought as they couldn’t see eye to eye on anything and frankly, it was a bit annoying. Especially whenever Hinata would rant to him about Kageyama. Maybe someday they’d be friends..if he got rid of his violent tendencies, but he’d remain vigilant otherwise. 

Sitting on the lowest level of the bleachers, Li Wei watched in fascination as every member got into position, with Hinata, Kageyama, and Tanaka on one side, and Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Sawamura on the other. There was definitely a height advantage for the opposing team.

Hinata had some words to say about the captain being on the other first year’s team, but Sawamura reassured him that Tanaka was by far the better attacker. Li Wei watched on as Tsukishima took it upon himself to rile up Hinata’s team, who were admittedly falling for the bait. It was kind of enjoyable to watch the way the team connected with one another and how quick those bonds formed, something the emerald-eyed male cannot relate to. 

Yes, his bond with Hinata and Kiyoko were both formed fairly quickly, but he has trouble connecting to the rest of the volleyball club. Especially Kageyama.

When the game began, the new manager was gobsmacked by the power within Tanaka’s serve and it made his heart thump a bit, just from the sheer excitement the beginning of the game was. However, that thump turned to ice when he watched as Tanaka took off his shirt. Covering his eyes, Li Wei swiftly walked over towards where the other team members and Kiyoko were, as he felt somewhat alone on the bleachers.

Hinata was set up for a spike and that made Li Wei want to cheer him on. “Go Hinata-“ He stopped himself as Hinata’s spike was completely blocked by the wall known as Tsukishima. The male covered his mouth in mortification, as Kiyoko chuckled a bit at his momentary excitement. “ _ Cute _ .” She muttered under her breath, however Li Wei heard it and promptly became flustered. 

The game continued on, with Yamaguchi accidentally serving the ball into the net. It made Tsukishima  _ tch _ at him in contempt and Li Wei felt bad for the guy, having felt that sort of contempt from some of his previous figure skating partners. Despite his status as a world-class figure skate, he has made plenty of mistakes during practices and only really comes through under pressure. Therefore, his partners will spread rumors of his incompetence to others and it results in him being sneered at if he makes any mistake. Those times had always been rough, serving as a cruel reminder of his mother who found everything he did to be a  _ mistake _ .

Back to the game, the next point that occurred featured Kageyama serving, but instead of a service ace, Sawamura hit the ball towards Tsukishima. In the end, Yamaguchi hit a lovely spike that made up for his last point. The other team’s amazing ability to cooperate together made Li Wei’s heart thump again in excitement, loving the amount of trust the player’s had in their teammates.  **_He wants that._ **

During the game, Li Wei is also surprised by Sawamura who states he doesn’t have outstanding talent but has more experience. It makes perfect sense however, as someone can be a prodigy in something but sometimes those with more experience can one up them. When he first began figure skating, he was considered a prodigy but became humbled after being defeated by someone who had practiced for far longer than he did. 

Sawamura’s “Don’t think you can get past me that easily” makes Li Wei a bit flustered, especially by the serious expression. He looks good- just in a friendly way.  _ Never _ in another way. While a bit trapped in his thoughts, Li Wei almost misses the explaintion about why Kageyama is called the “King of the Court.”

“He’s the egocentric King. The oppressive dictator. I heard rumors, but I was convinced when I saw that match. He got too oppressive and had to sit out on the bench.” Tsukishima smugly states, enjoying the fact that he can easily rile up Kageyama. “To make tosses just to have no one jump-“ The blonde is cut off by Kageyama himself.

“You’re right. The fact that I made a toss and no one was there..” Kageyama starts off, while Li Wei ponders about what Tsukishima stated. Though he was never in a sports team, he would despise it if his partner simply decided to let him flounder on his own because he was too  _ oppressive _ . Admittedly, it’d never really happen as his partner would screw them both up..which would benefit no one. Li Wei can sympathize with Kageyama’s plight, despite his feelings for the guy overall.

“It’s truly frightening.” Kageyama finishes, a dark look on his face as his hair covers most of the clear pain in his eyes. “But that was back in junior high, right? You toss to me just fine. It makes no difference to me.” Hinata jumps into the conversation, seemingly not caring about Kageyama’s title. If Li Wei had to describe Hinata when it comes to making friends with unlikely people, it’d be that he just has a way of helping someone overcome past issues just by being himself.

The gorgeous male can see the clear surprise on Kageyama’s face from Hinata’s remark. Hinata himself cares more about getting past the blonde wall, rather than focusing on someone’s past. The rest of the team laughs at Hinata’s declaration, Kiyoko and Li Wei included. Honestly, Hinata’s endless energy and optimism always brings the best out of people.

Li Wei gets a bit closer to Kiyoko and whispers, “Hey, Kiyoko-san?” The black-haired beauty turns towards him with an eyebrow raised, silently awaiting his question. “Would you..like to hang out sometime? N-not as a date..I just enjoy your company.” He awkwardly stutters out, a stark contrast from the kingly mask he wears around school. 

Kiyoko slaps a hand over her mouth and turns towards the other way, wanting to laugh out loud, but not wanting to disturb the match nor make Li Wei think she’s laughing at him. His awkwardness is always such a sight to see, but there’s definitely insecurities hidden behind it. Gently smiling after turning back towards Li Wei, she responds, “I would love to. We can plan it sometime next week, if that’s alright?” 

Li Wei smiles back towards her beautifully and nods his head, glad to know his friend actually  _ wants _ to be seen with him outside of a school atmosphere. He is still getting used to people liking him for well, him. 

Turning back towards the match, Li Wei watches in utter amazement as both Hinata and Kageyama put aside their differences and work together. Well, technically Hinata took the opportunity, but it shows that it is indeed possible. He honestly didn’t think it would happen, but is so proud of his friend, especially when he speaks out telling everyone that he’ll take any chance he can get. 

It spurs Hinata’s team to work together better, with Kageyama trying to figure out a way to work well with Hinata specifically. Though, it’s not all that easy at first, as Kageyama is a fast setter and Hinata struggles to reach the ball in time. “You can do it, Hinata-kun!” Li Wei calls out, attracting his friend’s attention. The male manager wanted to cheer up his friend who seemed down in the dumps. “WAH THANKS LI-KUN!!” Hinata calls back out, before listening to Sugawara’s advice. 

Suddenly, Kageyama points at Hinata with a determined look in his eyes. “So i’m going to use all of your abilities!” Tanaka utters a  _ ‘what’ _ as Kageyama continues on. “Use your highest speed, and your highest jump. I’ll bring the ball to you.” Poor Hinata is confused, “Bring the ball? What’s that mean?”

Kageyama does his best to explain what he’s trying to say and honestly, Li Wei is even further impressed. The guy clearly knows what he is doing. “Get to where there’s no blocker at your max speed, and jump. Then spike with all your strength. You don’t have to watch my toss. You don’t have to sync with the ball.” 

Li Wei listens on in fascination, mentally taking notes as he wants to be able to eventually play all positions and become the team’s all rounder player. He may not be there yet..not even close, but he’ll take any advice he can get whether it’s directed at him or not. That longing deep within his soul to become a part of a family-like team screams loudly at him and he’ll do whatever it takes to get there. 

Suddenly, he’s taken out of his thoughts by an amazing spike, courtesy of Hinata. The entire gym is silent in amazement, until Sawamura makes one specific comment: “Hinata’s eyes were closed just then.” The captain says as his face breaks out in disbelief, while the other members all yell out  _ ‘What?!’.  _

Li Wei can’t even make heads or tails of what just happened, having never heard of someone just closing their eyes while spiking. It’s even more insane because when Kageyama asks Hinata why he had his eyes closed, his friend states that he was told not to watch the ball.

**_That right there...is exactly what Li Wei strives for with this team._ ** That absolute sense of trust in one another and the fact that everyone works in tandem, with no one picking up someone’s slack. He couldn’t have that before, not with his monster’s always following behind him wherever he went and having his ‘friends’ report back to them constantly. How was he supposed to place his trust in anyone? Honestly, trust is such a fickle thing, because one second it exists and in the next, it’s just gone.

That spike from Hinata pretty much solidifies the new attack pair consisting of both Kageyama and Hinata. The primary of which states, “I don’t have any faith in us whatsoever, but i’ll keep bringing the ball to you. Just trust me, and jump!” The game continues from there, with both sides racking up points. During one specific point, Hinata gets hit by a volleyball that came from Kageyama, who quickly utters out a ‘ _ sorry _ ’. Full of worry for his friend, Li Wei quickly goes over to Hinata, with Kiyoko right by him. “Hinata-kun, are you okay? Should I get ice?” Frantic is one way to currently describe Li Wei, who ends up being the one reassured by Hinata. A bit embarrassed, Li Wei saunters back over to where Sugawara and the others are, taking a look at the score. ‘15-22 huh.’

Trying not to think about the losing position his friend is currently in, the jewel-eyed male has taken to conversing with Ennoshita, who gives off such a welcoming aura that it makes the male manager feel like less of a bothersome tool. Sugawara is also nearby, commenting here and there on the match itself. 

The first set ends up going straight to Hinata’s team, but the second becomes the other teams. The game gets more interesting as time goes by, as Li Wei talks with Kiyoko about all kinds of things, all while watching the match progress. The atmosphere within the gym, despite being competitive, is both lively yet gentle. 

Overall, Hinata’s team lost but the entire match was just..amazing. That’s something everyone can agree on and it solidifies Sawamura’s decision to keep every first year on the team. While the two talk, Sawamura calls out to both of them. “Shimizu! The stuff is here, right? Take Li with you!” Kiyoko nods and before Li Wei even realizes it, he is being pulled away by his co-manager. 

Unfortunately, Li Wei’s flinches aren’t that subtle so Kiyoko lets go but a questioning look appears on her. With no plans to ask her friend anything yet, she brings him into the clubroom where the team’s uniforms are stored. “I will be leaving next year, Li-kun, so please memorize where our items for the club are. These here are our uniforms. Over there are our jackets.” She points towards a brown box and picks it up, letting Li Wei trail behind her like a lost puppy. She’d chuckle at him if she weren’t so worried over his responses to her simply grabbing his wrist. 

When the two arrive back into the gym, both Hinata and Kageyama come up to them, with an especially curious Hinata. Once the box opens up, Li Wei can see sparkles almost coming off of his friend. “The sizes should be okay, but let me know if you need anything.” Kiyoko says, showing how reliable of a manager she is. The jackets are handed out to the first-years, who have varying degrees of excitement about the jackets. Eventually, through both Tanaka’s and Sugawara’s peer pressure, every single first year, excluding Li Wei who is the manager, lines up wearing the jacket. The rest of the team, who are already wearing their jackets, welcome the first years. 

Practice is about to continue on, when Takeda-sensei bursts through the gym doors looking as if he’d run a marathon. “The practice match. It’s against one of the top four teams in the prefecture. Aoba Johsai High School.” Li Wei hadn’t known a practice match would occur whatsoever, but his heart thumps in excitement rapidly. ‘I’ll finally be able to see a real live match in person,’ he thinks to himself, a beautiful smile appearing on his face. Those that noticed the smile were suddenly ensnared by the male, who seemed to be in his own little world.

_ Ah, he can’t wait. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will probably have the rest of episode 5 or I might skip it, putting my complete focus on episodes 6-7. I am very excited about showing how Kageyama's and Li Wei's friendship will progress!


	8. Aoba Johsai and the First Match pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Thoughts of self-doubt/worth and suicide, as well as depression. Subtle mention of abuse)

**LI WEI SAT BY THE WINDOW SEAT ON THE BUS-** which was meant to take them over to Aoba Johsai. Next to him sat Kiyoko, who was listening to music through her phone, with her eyes closed. He was excited to see an actual volleyball match that’s live as he had watched many matches in secret through various online recordings. His parents had often scorned him for enjoying the sport at all, so it was a well-kept secret that he held dear to his heart.

The day had passed by pretty awfully for Li Wei, whose depression decided to rear its ugly head in his direction. The manager had felt unwell all day, finding himself unable to focus as thoughts of self-doubt swarmed his mind. It was hard to disregard them, as Li Wei often heard those thoughts in the sound of his parent’s voices. ‘ _ You’re worthless’ _ , they’d say. Of course, Li Wei would believe them. 

He wanted to take a mental health day, something he’d never been allowed to do in his parent’s home.. It would’ve given him a day to cleanse his mind of dark thoughts that often led him to believe sleeping in the bathtub was an idea he should partake in. However, if he had not gone to classes today, he would have been ineligible to attend the game. It was a rule he understood but wished didn’t exist, as despite his excitement, he currently wasn’t in the best place mentally.

A long sigh left his lips as he continued to stare out the window, watching the scenery that passed by. Noise sounded throughout the bus, with Hinata and Tanaka being the prime suspects. “What is that look on your face?” Tanaka bellowed out, loud enough for the bus's occupants to hear. Whatever Hinata said next must’ve been said in a whisper, as Li Wei couldn’t hear it. However, the next statement that he could hear was a massive ‘GWAH’ from Tanaka and suddenly, an awful smell permeated the bus. Li Wei rapidly covered his mouth and nose, hating the smell of vomit more than anything.

When he used to go to gala’s for his parent’s associates, he would be allowed to have a bit more freedom on what he ate. However, once he returned home, he would be forced to throw it all up. Vomit brought bad memories in general. His thoughts were interrupted by Tanaka, who screamed out, “STOP THE BUS!” Something he was completely onboard with as the smell continued to fester within the bus.

When they arrived at Aoba Johsai, Li Wei was escorted off the bus by Kiyoko, who had noticed his rapidly palling face. The two stood around by the entrance of the school, waiting for the rest of their team to get off the bus and into the school. Li Wei noticed how a few of the team went over to two boys who were dressed in white jumpsuits with light blue-ish green highlights. 

He didn’t hear the conversation as he stood by Kiyoko and the captain, but the full-body shivers shown by those boys clued him into what was going on. The male didn’t quite understand why they were trying to intimidate the two boys, who were most likely Aoba Johsai players. ‘Maybe that’s how team sports works?’, Li Wei reasoned in his head, unaware that was not the case as he’d never really been on a team with other players for anything.

Eventually, everyone was led into Aoba Johsai’s gym, which was far larger than Karasuno’s. Li Wei also picked up on the fact that it was the school’s 3rd gymnasium, something that only certain types of school had. His own school back in Beijing had 5 different gymnasiums, all for different sports. It was excessive, yet many of the students who attended the school had parents who donated money in order to secure connections with various alumni who were able to attend donator-only dinners. His own parents had done exactly that, even if they didn’t  _ need _ those connections.

Li Wei followed his team in greeting the other school with a simple ‘nice to meet you’ and a formal bow. Aoba Johsai’s team followed suit. Their captain, who hadn’t said much about the other school, finally spoke up. “Aoba Johsai is known for each of its members being highly skilled equally in offense and defense.” That statement impressed Li Wei, who knew that most volleyball players excelled at one or two positions, but usually not equally. 

Sawamura continued on, “These guys could go to any school and become the ace.” While that statement was most true, Li Wei believed that Shiratorizawa’s ace would not be replaced by any person on Aoba Johsai. 

According to Sugawara, the powerful blocks done by Aoba Johsai are famous. Li Wei wants to see those blocks as his curiosity consumes him. What exactly makes a block famous? Li Wei wouldn’t know. 

The male manager tries to find Hinata, who he wanted to wish good luck to specifically after seeing his nerves really come into play. However, he’s nowhere to be found. “Sawamura-san, did you see where Hinata-kun went?” Worry becomes visible on his face as Sawamura takes a second too long to answer. “I think he went to the bathroom, don’t worry alright? He may just need a second alone to cope with the reality of participating in his first game.” His captain places a large hand on his back and Li Wei holds back a minute flinch, having seen Sawamura’s arm before he was touched. 

Nodding to Sawamura, Li Wei flocks to Kiyoko, who is waiting by the side for the game to begin. Unlike Hinata, Li Wei is almost a pro at hiding his nerves, having been unable to ever show it in the presence of his parents. It doesn’t mean he isn’t nervous whatsoever as he hopes his team will win. Before the game starts, Kiyoko ends up giving Hinata a bit of a pep-talk of sorts to ease his nerves, but ends up making it worse. The final blow is given by Li Wei himself, who whispers a tiny good luck to Hinata, making the tangerine blow a fuse.

When the game finally begins, Kiyoko whispers to him in order to not distract any of the players. “Li-san, are you alright? You’re really pale. If you aren’t feeling well, you should go to the nurse’s office.” Concern is etched in every word she speaks, bringing a bit of happiness to Li Wei, who still isn’t used to people really caring about him. He’s about to wave off her concerns when he notices Kiyoko giving him a look that screams, ‘If you don’t go, i’ll drag you myself.’ 

The game continues on in the background, with Hinata’s nerves affecting the game in a way that spells disaster. Li Wei wants to stay and cheer his team on, but that icky feeling from the morning has become more pronounced. The emerald-eyed male chose to ignore his feelings of sickness in order to go with his team to this game, but with Kiyoko’s wordless insistence, he hesitantly agrees with a tiny nod. He also flushes a bit, feeling like a young child who got caught putting his hand in the cookie jar. Li Wei knows if he ever put his hand in a cookie jar as a child, he’d get far more than a stern talking to. 

“I’ll make sure to be back for the second game then, Kiyoko-san.” Bowing down at a 90 degree angle, Li Wei leaves the gymnasium and goes towards the main building, hoping to easily find the nurse’s office. Unfortunately, the search isn’t as easy as he hoped it’d be, with Li Wei getting lost after 10 minutes. A miserable sigh leaves his lips as he searches for a student who can help him in his search.

As Li Wei turns at another corner, he ends up bumping into a firm wall of sorts and falls backwards. Before he can land on his behind, two strong arms encircle him in order to prevent him from going down any further. Li Wei had his eyes closed when he was falling down, so he hesitantly opened them up. It took a second for him to realize that he was  _ trapped _ . 

The man in front of him was tall, had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had a flirtatious smile on his face and it made Li Wei want to run far,  _ far _ away. Wiggling to escape the man’s arms, Li Wei quickly backs away from him, not feeling comfortable whatsoever. “Hello gorgeous~ Why are you backing away from me? Is my attractiveness blinding you?” The male chuckles, amused by Li Wei’s action.

Li Wei, on the other hand, was freaking out inwardly. He doesn’t like being touched and though he knows it was an accident, the feeling of arms wrapped around his body doesn’t make him feel safe, but rather trapped. Trying to get himself under control, Li Wei speaks up,”Would you please help me find the nurse’s office?” He sounds more composed than he really is at the moment.

Oikawa Tooru has never quite met someone so beautiful in his life and is already attracted to the male. He’s never been quiet about playing for both teams, but often gets held up by volleyball, something he is completely passionate about. Oikawa notices the uniform worn by the male, recognizing it as a volleyball jumpsuit. A player, maybe? He’s not quite sure but that doesn’t deter him from flirting with the supposed enemy. “Of course I can bring a beauty like you wherever you please. Follow me, my prince.~” 

Li Wei is not amused by the guy’s actions, but follows right behind, not keen on being next to the brown-haired male. If he hadn’t been feeling so gross, he might’ve tried to intimidate the guy into being less flirty, but his current mindset isn’t focused on that. If anything, he’s focused on trying to discreetly rub away the feeling of the male’s arms on his skin. It reminded him too much of  _ that _ therapist and his sweet words that led to something he  **despises** remembering.

While looking at the man as a means to keep an eye on him, he notices the volleyball uniform and wonders why he isn’t playing with his team. His thoughts are quickly interrupted by Oikawa throwing questions at him at rapid speed. Things like is he single, how old is he, and other questions that are somewhat personal yet not exactly invasive. Answering to the best of his abilities, Li Wei prays that they arrive soon, feeling tired out by the guy’s enthusiasm. He somewhat reminds him of Hinata, aside from the flirtatious nature.

“We’ve arrived, my prince. May I have a kiss on the cheek and your number as a reward~” Li Wei steps into the nurse’s office and turns towards Oikawa, before shutting the door shut on him. He walks towards the nurse on duty, who can hopefully give him something to feel less sick.

Oikawa stares at the closed door and sighs, a bit sad that his plan didn’t work at all. However, he’s  _ no _ quitter. As he walks back towards the gymnasium to play in the practice game, he sends a small prayer to the alien gods above to gain a second chance with the beauty. 

_ Somehow, both of their hopes/prayers are answered.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two will hopefully be up on Saturday!


	9. Aoba Johsai and the First Match pt.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW:Small bouts of panic.)

**LI WEI’S EYES FLUTTERED OPEN YET CLENCHED SHUT** \- at the sight of complete brightness. Slowly, he pushed himself up on the bed and tried to remember where he was. When it clicked, he sighed, remembering how the nurse was adamant that he take a short nap before returning to the gymnasium. 

Leaving the comfort and warmth of the bed, Li Wei searched around for the nurse but was unable to find him. A little bit confused, Li Wei decides to leave the nurse’s office and travel back towards the gym, feeling bad for having missed part of the match. His nap had been 30 minutes long and the male manager was thankful for not oversleeping. Unlike searching for the nurse’s office, getting back to gymnasium #3 was far easier. 

Quietly opening the gymnasium doors, Li Wei is not surprised to see his team fighting with all they have against Aoba Johsai’s team, Swiftly walking towards Kiyoko, Li Wei tries to ignore the intensive stare coming his way from none other than the flirtatious brown-headed male. Compared to the earlier match without the specific player, Aoba Johsai’s team seems even more coordinated. 

“Li-san, are you doing alright now?” Kiyoko asks, worry etching her features. The emerald-eyed male gives her a tiny nod, with a little smile visible on his face. The worry Kiyoko shows for him makes his heart flutter a bit in happiness, rather than for any other reason. “How’s the team doing, Kiyoko-san?” Li Wei asks, having missed a large part of the match. His heart is pounding as the game gets closer and closer, with both teams constantly getting points off one another..

“Pretty great. See that brown-headed tale male in the back? That’s Oikawa Tooru, also known as the Great King. He’s a powerful setter and may be one of the top setters in the prefectures when compared to others. However, our team is fighting with all they’ve got, despite the other team’s powerful weapon.” Kiyoko proudly states, as if she were a mother watching her child do their best against the odds. 

Li Wei is proud as well, but especially of Hinata, whose earlier nerves spelled disaster for the team and yet, they’ve managed to come back powerfully. When he asked Kiyoko how Hinata’s nerves disappeared, he begrudgingly had to thank Kageyama in his head, who managed to snap Hinata out of his anxious state. _Just_ _maybe, he isn’t so bad._

As the game progresses on, Li Wei watches in utter amazement as both sides do whatever they can to keep gaining points. Eventually, both sides lay at 23 points each on the final set and his own nerves couldn’t be higher. Tensions are running high as both teams aim to get the final point in order to win the match. 

As the point begins, Oikawa takes his turn to serve the ball, aiming it right towards the edge. The amount of control the brown-headed male has fascinates Li Wei a bit, who understands somewhat how much time it takes to achieve such a level. With figure skating, he’s had to completely understand his body and power in order to accomplish terrifying jumps, such as the triple axel, all without screwing it up.

Tsukishima, who was in a perfect position in the far left corner of the court, was able to lob the ball upwards towards the other team. It gave Oikawa the opportunity to hit it towards a light-brown haired player, who then set it to a spiky black hair player. Li Wei was nervous because if the spiky black-haired male spiked it well enough, Aoba Johsai would win.

Out of nowhere, Hinata went racing towards the ball that the other play was about to spike. Li Wei’s own heart rate spiked in anxiousness, as he watched his friend’s hand hit the ball, known as a one-touch. Kageyama went running towards the volleyball himself and Hinata bounced to the other side of the court at an insane speed, preparing himself to hit Kageyama’s set.  **It was the moment of truth.**

Hinata was set perfectly for the ball as he spiked it powerfully right past Oikawa, with the ball landing right by the line yet still counting as in. It was silent for a few seconds, with the only sound being of the volleyball coming to a complete step. Eventually, the game referee blew into his whistle as he pointed his arm towards Karasuno, declaring them the winners of the practice match. 

Li Wei’s heart had yet to stop rapidly pounding as excitement shone all over his face. This is what he was looking for. That excitement of not knowing who will win and the immense trust between teammates. The male manager knew that in an official match, the stakes would be even higher, as well as the energy. “I’m so glad they won.” Li Wei quietly whispers to his co-manager, who hums in agreement. The two walk over to the rest of the team to give their congratulations. 

They end up having to wait for both teams to thank each for the game, before joining their teammates. Li Wei goes straight for Hinata but stops for a second when he realizes that Hinata, along with Kageyama, Tanaka, and Sawamura have run up to Takeda-sensei. Their advisor, with Sugawara’s tiny push, lays out beautiful advice for their team overall.

“Um..i’m just a beginner when it comes to volleyball, but..But even I can tell, that something amazing is going on here. We have some amazing first-years this semester. They were hard to handle in the beginning, but I learned something today. We’re nothing if we don’t cooperate. A chemical synergy happens when each one encounters the other… Even this very moment is giving birth to other encounters that will change the world.” Their advisor speaks a bit more after his statement, but then gets flustered as he believes he spoke too much. Their captain quickly reassures him otherwise.

Li Wei, along with the team, bow down in thanks to their advisor. Once the thanks is finished, the male manager quickly scouts out Hinata and pulls him to the side, with his friend wearing a confused expression. “You okay, Li-kun?” His friend asks him and all Li Wei does is smile, before pulling his friend into his first ever initiated hug. 

Hinata is completely baffled and pleasantly surprised by Li Wei’s actions, having never seen his friend initiate contact much before. Hugs from his side are a HUGE step, as his beautiful friend has only been comfortable receiving hugs up until recently. Quickly hugging back, Hinata relishes in the hug, wondering if these small bouts of affection are what their clearly married future will be like.

Unaware of Hinata’s delusional thoughts, Li Wei pulls away, still not entirely comfortable with longer hugs. “I’m so proud of you.” He smiles at Hinata, not noticing the little bite of pink sprinkling his friend’s cheeks. “u-uh THANKS LI-KUN..i-i’m p-p-proud of you t-too!” His friend stutters out, before escaping towards the bathroom. A little confused by the sudden escape by Hinata, Li Wei follows Kiyoko out of the gym towards the bus, where a majority of the team already is. His co-manager had been waiting for him, which was just so sweet.

“Thanks for waiting for me, Kiyoko-san.” Li Wei gives her a gentle smile, which Kiyoko returns all the same. They wait about 5 minutes for Hinata and Kageyama to arrive so that they can leave, but before they are able to, a certain setter awaits. 

“You know your stuff.” Oikawa smirks, causing many of the first years and Tanaka included to become automatically hostile. Tanaka tries to intimidate him, “You got a problem, dude?” Face set in a scowl, Li Wei almost laughs at the clear attempt by Tanaka to come off as frightening, yet the setter simply smirks. 

“Don’t be so hostile.” The brown-headed setter motions his hand in a downwards motion, in order to somewhat pacify the Karasuno members. “You, little one.” The male quickly calls out Hinata, causing his friend to become a bit caught-off guard. “Your last one-touch and broad attack were amazing.” That statement is something Li Wei entirely agrees with. 

As the conversation continues on, the male setter from Aoba johsai tries to rile the crows up, pointing out their strong points and weaknesses. “Don’t get eliminated, okay? Because I want to pulverize my dear underclassman, setter-on-setter, in an official match.” Oikawa points towards Kageyama with a confident smile on his face. 

“There’s not much time till the tournament. I look forward to seeing you there.” Oikawa is about to leave, when he spots his angel amongst the Karasuno members. “Ah, beauty-chan! I knew fate would help us meet up again.~” Making a beeline towards Li Wei, Oikawa quickly brings his phone and places it in front of the beautiful male. 

“As fate has brought us together once again, it must be telling us to go on a date!” Baffled, Li Wei wants to turn away, but at the same time, he’s intrigued by the setter. Flirtatious, with a joking nature, yet a serious powerful man on the court. He won’t go on a date.  _ He can’t _ .  _ It’s wrong and disgraceful.  _ His hands subtly twitch as he gently grabs Oikawa’s phone, before placing his own number in.

“I won’t go on a date, but I am fine with becoming friends.” Li Wei seriously states out, needing to get his point across. No matter how attract-nice the stetter is, he cannot be dragged down towards that path. His hands become clammy as he shakily gives Oikawa back his phone, before bowing down and escaping the male. He finds himself next to Kiyoko on the bus, with her hand in his as he tries to avoid the oncoming panic attack. It was all going so well, until those thoughts invaded his mind once again. He has to be normal, he  _ has _ to be.

While the male manager freaks out for one reason, Oikawa freaks out for another. “I knew the alien gods wouldn’t let me down.” He mutters under his breath, before going back into the gym. His entire aura exudes happiness, making the ace wonder what the hell happened between their loss to Karasuno and now. “Oi, Shittykawa, what did you do?” Iwaizumi Hajime, a male with dark, spiked-up hair and a scowl on his face, speaks up. However, Oikawa doesn’t answer, too lost in his own little world after getting his angel’s number. 

‘What if...what if his angel is actually an alien from another world?!? Unmatched beauty is not a human trait.’ Oikawa thinks to himself, unaware of the disgusted expression of his teammates who now know exactly what their captain was doing. Getting a girl’s number. 

Back to Karasuno, all the members have found themselves at the Sakanoshita Shop. Li Wei had come here for his own groceries and found that he really enjoyed the buns that were made, something he rarely bought as they were often sold out. He was pretty excited to get them, until the manager made them aware of the fact that the soccer club bought up the last of them.

Sighing a bit, Li Wei decides to make his way home, tired from the long day he had. Sleeping sounds like the best medicine to deal with those awful thoughts swimming in the back of his head. “I’ll be leaving now. Thank you for today. Hinata-kun, i’ll text you tomorrow morning.” He bows down, receiving goodbyes here and there from his teammates before walking home.

As he moves towards his home, he reminisces on the day he had, finally letting those depressing thoughts consume him again. However, before he is able to spiral, a beep comes from his phone. Quickly grabbing it out of his pocket, he sees that the text is from Oikawa. ‘Let’s hang out this weekend!! Not a date!! I’ll even introduce you to my partner in crime ;)’ 

Li Wei’s weekend plans had consisted of practice figure skating and volleyball, so he decided to just go for it. When he ran away, one of his plans consisted of making more real friends. It’s a bit out of his comfort zone, as he doesn’t know the setter that well at all, yet his fear of the unknown will only block him from making those connections. Sending out a text of confirmation, he ends up texting Oikawa the rest of the way home, learning much more about the male. The conversation takes his mind away from all the usual negative thoughts.

_ Once home, Li Wei simply wonders what tomorrow will bring. _


	10. A New Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Panic attack, implication of past abuse/torture)

**JEWEL-LIKE EYES STARED LISTLESSY AT THE BEAUTIFUL SKY** -finding peace in solidarity. The male had found himself on the school’s roof during the lunch break, needing a bit of a break from everything. His emerald eyes focused heavily on the evermoving clouds, daydreaming about what would happen if he got closer to the volleyball team. Next to him sits a half eaten colorful bento box full of plenty of vegetables and onigiri rice balls, that took a fair hour to create. Far too lost in his own head, Li Wei misses the sound of the door to the roof slowly opening up.

By the time awareness flutters into Li Wei’s eyes, a large shadow looms over him. Startled and frightened, Li Wei brings his knees directly into his chest, before lifting his arms up in a defensive position. The shadow far is far too reminiscent of his father, who often promised pain whenever in a similar position. Now, instead of knowing he’s on Karasuno’s rooftop, Li Wei believes he is back in his father’s dreadful office, with monochromatic colors and large bookcases that hide the way to a very  _ special _ room.  _ Why hasn’t he escaped? Why is he back?! _ Too far gone, Li Wei is unable to hear the frantic words full of worry from the male now crouching directly in front of him.

Azumane Asahi had  _ never _ been in a situation such as this. Yes, he tends to scare people unfortunately simply because of his larger stature and looks, but never had he gotten such a terrifyingly extreme reaction. All he wanted to do was find a peaceful place to eat after having his day disrupted by persistent first years who wanted him to join the volleyball club again. Now, he’s faced with a possible first-year student whose a complete shivering mess, acting as though he would hit him. Baffled by what to do, he crouches down quickly and attempts to calm the male down, who has hidden himself in his knees. “H-hey, i’m not going to hurt you.” The brunette’s voice comes out gentle and soft, as if speaking to a hurt animal. Slowly, but surely, the frightened male in front of him begins to unravel himself. The male’s face suddenly comes into his peripheral vision and Asahi has to rapidly will away his blush, having not expected such beauty. Beautiful emerald wide eyes blink straight at him, as confusion is visible on the male’s face, who has finally stopped shaking. 

Li Wei confusedly stares at the brunette in front of him, who has dark brown eyes and a bit of scruff on his chin. He kind of reminds him of that one religious figure, Jesus. It takes a few seconds but Li Wei quickly realizes why the male has worry written all over his face. Completely and utterly embarrassed by his moment of weakness, the male ducks his head down. “I-i’m so sorry for that.” The once powerful voice Li Wei always relied on during his life in Beijing has long disappeared since his arrival at Karasuno, with his voice becoming far more soft. However, at this very moment, his voice is nothing but a mere whisper. 

Asahi quickly waves his hands, “Ah! Don’t worry about it. I tend to have that effect on people.” His large hand rubs the back of his neck, a sliver of embarrassment evident on his face. The entire encounter has felt awkward thus far and he wishes Suga was here instead. The silver-headed male often knew how to deal with situations that required comfort of some sort. “You don’t look scary..you just reminded me of a bad memory.” Asahi whips his head straight back towards the male, whose voice came out quickly. It was strange for someone to not be scared of him the first time around because of his rougher looks per say and yet, the gorgeous male in front of him admitted to not being scared of him because of his looks. It warmed his heart a bit, as most people often misinterpreted him. Unsure of how to answer the male whose name he has yet to know, Asahi decides to introduce himself. “My name is Azumane Asahi. I’m a third year and used to play volleyball.” 

Li Wei is surprised by Azumane’s acceptance of his answer, as others would surely badger him with questions surrounding his clearly terrified reaction. Softly smiling to himself, Li Wei answers back a bit more confidently this time around, with his voice reflecting his sudden burst of confidence. “My name is Li Wei. I’m a first year and one of the volleyball managers. Which position did you play?” Following up with a question is not something Li Wei often did, as he still was nervous about making friends with those who would see him for him, rather than as his parent’s creation. However, he realized that he can’t whine or bicker about not being close to many people if he doesn’t put in the effort. Sometimes, it feels like his best friend’s ability to easily make friends is slowly rubbing off on him and the male finds joy in that.

“Ah, I used to be the ace of the team and an outside hitter.” The answer intrigues Li Wei, who remembered how the mention of an ace, despite the importance of the role, was not a thing when he learned of every member's position on the team. He doesn’t ask Azumane why he quit, because that would be intrusive and the jesus-looking male deserves the same treatment that he got after his panic attack. Instead, he decides to take an initiative towards making another friend. “Would you like to stay with me for the remainder of the lunch break?” He asks, patting the space next to him as means of an invitation. 

Eventually, the taller male agrees and two make small talk here and there throughout the period, mostly talking about their interests. The emerald-eyed male learns that Azumane is a pretty big fan of Tonkotsu Ramen, something he had yet to try. When Li Wei admitted to that, Azumane became outraged and promised to take him out sometime to try ‘the most amazing dish to exist’. The peaceful atmosphere calms Li Wei down completely, who still had minute fears from the earlier encounter. When the period ended, both males exchanged numbers and walked together to their classes, before splitting off to go to their respective floors. 

A smile stayed upon Li Wei’s face throughout the rest of the day, unknowingly attracting plenty of attention from his classmates and other students as he often kept up his emotionless/arrogant-king like mask around them. It was a breath of fresh air for the students, who often felt the beautiful male was far too unapproachable for the common person.

On his way to practice, Li Wei is introduced to a most interesting character upon his arrival to the gym. A male, shorter than Hinata, with wild black hair and a tiny tuft of bleached blonde hair whose energy rivals that of Hinata’s brings a sense of newfound life to the team’s atmosphere. Somehow, he must’ve missed the new arrival when he slept in this morning. Swiftly walking towards the male, Li Wei takes the initiative to introduce himself, as his earlier confidence has continued to stick around. “Hello, my name is Li Wei and i’m the other manager for this team.” Bowing down, Li Wei awaits a response and gets nothing. Confused, he slowly gets back up, before noticing the deep red hue on the other male’s face, paired with excitement. “C-could it be?!? ANOTHER BEAUTY?!?” The short male seems to vibrate in place, as a large grin fills their face.

“Nishinoya Yuu at your service! I’m a second year and the team’s libero! I’m also known as Karasuno’s guardian deity.” Nishinoya puts up a peace sign, before rapidly spitting out questions about plenty of unrelated topics. “Ah, Nishinoya-senpai, please slow down. I cannot answer your questions that quickly.” Similarly to Tanaka, the use of the word senpai sets off a very interesting reaction. “Yes yes! I am your senpai. I’ll make sure to get you ice cream too!” The short male grins, before hopping on over to practice with the rest of the team. A bit overwhelmed by the male’s positivity, Li Wei stalks over to Kiyoko, who gently smiles at him. Her calming aura always seems to help him out.

Li Wei turns back towards the team and greets them, receiving a warm hug from Hinata who acts like a puppy whose owner just came back from work. Practice flows by like a soft breeze, with no issues really appearing. Eventually, Takeda-sensei pops into the gym with exciting news. Apparently, the team would go against their supposed rivals, Nekoma. Covering up a small snort, Li Wei wonders how the schools picked their names. ‘The crows and the cats, how silly”, the long-haired male thinks to himself. As time goes by, Li Wei feels more and more a part of the team and the family it’s slowly creating. By the end of practice and subsequently the day, Li Wei thinks back on how the day played out.

_ Li Wei wonders if fate played a part in today’s encounters, as he came across not one, but two different volleyball players. One a former player and another who is a necessary pillar for the team. He also wonders if this is meant to be a turning point of sorts. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The hangout between Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Li will be happen after season 1 but before season 2. The next chapter may not be uploaded within a week because I just went through my first week of classes and I am already fairly swamped. I'll do my best, however, in getting the next chapter uploaded in time. I hope you enjoy this chapter as it's somewhat filler-y but also establishes another friendship/possible relationship for Li.


	11. Consumed by Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Panic attack, mention of abuse/torture, thoughts of suicide)

**LI WEI SILENTLY TAPS HIS FINGER ON HIS DESK-** waiting for the day to end. Today, the team is going against another team full of older men for practice before their fated match against Nekoma. The day thus far has been long and grueling, with Li Wei wanting to fall asleep in class. That’s a thought he’s never had and it was quite a surprise. Lowly humming, Li Wei subtly glances at the round clock, noticing that there are only 5 minutes left of class.

Sighing, he turns to his friend Yachi, who is also dozing off lightly. After the blonde-headed girl realized he wouldn’t eat her, they became closer than ever. Li Wei was always confused by her statement,  _ wondering why he would ever eat her. _ He is by no means a cannibal, nor does he condone the actions of cannibals. It’s a barbaric practice in his mind, especially if done as a way to justify murder.

Finally, the bell rings and class finally ends, with the teacher clapping her hands and reminding all students about the homework due the next day. Li Wei slowly gets up, placing all his books back into his brown shoulder bag, before planning on leaving. However, just as he is about to leave, he is called to stay behind by the teacher. Worried, Li Wei places his mask back onto his face, not wanting to show an adult any of his weaknesses.

“Li-san, come sit down in one of the front desks. I promise you aren’t in any trouble, I would just like to touch base with you.” His teacher, Yori-sensei, gently smiles at him as she points her finger towards one of the front desks. The emerald-eyed male goes to the desk his teacher’s finger is pointing too, hoping this little meeting won’t take up much time. He’s sure the match would have already started by now, considering how no one on the team really enjoys staying on school grounds late at night.

“Now, as I stated, I would like to touch base with you. As an international student, i’m sure that certain adjustments had to be made to understand parts of Japanese culture and it may have been difficult or overwhelming. During my high school career, I studied in Seoul for an entire academic year and felt overwhelmed fairly fast. I was lucky to have a teacher who decided to look out for me. However, even then, there were times where I was either homesick or stressed out, wishing I had my family with me.” She starts off, not noticing the way Li Wei’s face furthers into a neutral tone at the mention of his teacher missing her family. He’s worried that she will try to get him to contact those monsters.

Fidgeting a bit, the beautiful male manager continues to listen to his teacher’s story. He isn’t ungrateful at all, finding it heartwarming that an adult would want to look out for him, but even the idea of reaching out to his parents is frightening because he is technically on the run from them.  _ If they find out where he is, they’ll lock him up forever. He can’t be locked up forever! He can’t go through that anymore. _ **_If he has to go back, he would rather take one of his ice skates and slash it through his neck._ **

Silently breathing more harshly, his teacher finally notices his blank face and flushed cheeks, quieting down. To others, Li Wei seems as though he is simply blushing from embarrassment even if that isn’t the case. Throughout his life, Li Wei has learned to become as silent as a cat, crying and panicking without a noise ever escaping his lips. Though he is no longer home, he finds it terrifying to be freaking out in front of someone with the authority to report him to the police and subsequently send him home. The long black-haired male knows he shouldn’t be so pessimistic, but it feels as though when something amazing happens to him, something just as bad follows.

Finally having calmed down a bit, Li Wei finally speaks up. “I..thank you, Yori-sensei. I have been..alright. I am thankful for your kindness and will come to you if I need someone to speak to.” He speaks slowly and as confidently as he can, before gently leaving the seat. He gives his teacher a quick bow before rushing out of the classroom, knowing he’ll scold himself later for the rudeness he presented to an adult and may end up punishing himself. However, the room felt suffocating and he  _ needed _ to escape.

Li Wei gently opens the door to the gymnasium, having heard the match already ongoing through the doors. Only Kiyoko and the blonde from the small shop notice him, making Li Wei wonder why the male is there. Quietly making his way over, he apologizes to Kiyoko for being late before turning towards the blonde, who is giving him a calculating look of sorts. “Name’s Keishin Ukai. I’ll be the temporary coach of this team until the match against Nekoma. Shimizu-san has already informed me of your role.” The coach easily says, looking as though he wants to ruffle Li Wei’s head but is holding himself back.

The male manager gives a slight nod to the coach, before turning towards the match as surprise fills his features. There, on the court, stands his new friend Azumane. The same male he was sure had no plans of going back to playing volleyball. His friend is  _ amazing _ and has so much  _ force _ behind his spikes. As of right now, the other player he had met, Nishinoya, has just saved a point for the team in green. Li Wei quickly realizes that this team has the members of the neighbor’s association.

Another thing that amazes Li Wei is that the entire team is now together, despite playing on opposite sides. It’s crazy how volleyball players are able to synch with others they have just met and play in a way where everyone just works together. With ice skating, it takes months for a sense of harmony to occur between two partners, or less depending on the compatibility. Li Wei has never completely clicked with anyone in ice skating, as many of his past partners have been awful to say the least. The male isn’t referring to the skillset of any of his past partners, but their personalities.

Feeling excited simply by watching the match, Li Wei takes mental notes in his head about how each member interacts with others, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. It’ll be difficult for him to jump onto the team as a player in the future if he can’t understand how his teammates work. Though, playing seems like wishful thinking as he doesn’t get as much practice as he would like to. 

Li Wei watches as his new friend realizes Hinata’s absurd potential in volleyball and completely understands the male’s surprise, as he was the very same when his best friend first showed off his amazing jumping skills. He holds back a bit of a chuckle, watching as the match continues on. Next to him, Kiyoko makes little comments here and there about who the other players are, as he only knows that they are a local volleyball team made up of older men. The stamina those men have at their age is surprising to Li Wei, as he isn’t sure if he’ll be that fit by his 30’s or 40’s.

As the match plays on, Li Wei watches in horror as Hinata is hit by a ball and falls onto the ground, the urge to run over is extremely strong. It seems as though his friend has horrible luck on the court in terms of getting hit by balls and as Hinata gets back up, the red mark on his forehead is blaringly visible. The male manager has to hold back a wince, knowing exactly how a hit to the head feels in any capacity. Though, he wasn’t usually hit with a volleyball, instead he was either hit by his father’s fists or his mother’s  _ lovely _ supply of pots or pans. Despite the fact that his mother would have never lowered herself to the position of a cook, she loves showing off her diamond-embedded collection of fans, especially when those same diamonds hit various parts of his body.

A nudge to his elbow brings Li Wei back to the present, where he had apparently missed a bit of an encounter between Takeda-sensei and another possibly teacher on campus. Somehow, he hadn’t noticed that the club advisor was at the match and scolds himself for not greeting the male properly. Quickly greeting Takeda-sensei, Li Wei turns back to the match, which has already resumed once again.

His eyes are glued to Hinata, who manages to finally hit a spike without being blocked. According to Kiyoko, Hinata had been struggling during the match as he was often blocked. Li Wei’s proud of his friend again, who constantly defies the exceptions often set by other’s for him simply because of his height. Maybe if Li Wei had just a smidgen of Hinata’s willpower, he would’ve been able to stand up to his parents and actually report the abuse, but their power within China made that exceedingly difficult. One or two bribes here and there, then the case is just  _ gone _ .

Eventually, the match ends in the neighborhood’s association winning 2-0 and Li Wei has admittedly missed most of the match, having been too caught up in his thoughts again due to the panic attack of sorts from earlier. It feels as though a dam opens up whenever he has a panic attack, because all of those negative thoughts or memories find their way back into the forefront of his mind and he struggles to overcome them. However, Li Wei vows to not let that happen again as he doesn’t want to keep missing important matches or feel as though the rest of the team is getting closer, while he is on the sidelines.

The other male team ends up leaving and the coach gathers everyone up, before making a bit of a speech. “Starting tomorrow, you’ve rigorous training ahead. Make sure you don’t forget to stretch. Also, don’t rush your stretches. It’s stupidly easy to get a sore muscle just because you decided to breeze through the stretches. Aside from myself, you’ll have both of your managers here for support, such as Li-san, who will become a strategist for this team at one point.” Li Wei quickly turns towards the coach, wondering what he’s on about. The only person he has ever told about possible strategies for the team is Kiyoko, who then winks at him. She mouths, “You can get closer to the team” before smiling. Kiyoko is someone he confides in and he told her all about the loneliness he has felt at times. Thankful for her help, Li Wei bows down towards the team.

“Please take care of me.” His voice is soft yet powerful, shooting arrows through the hearts of the team. Li Wei’s eyes are shimmering with emotions, excited at being able to get even closer to some of the volleyball members.  _ He so badly wants to become a part of this slowly forming family. _

The coach eventually continues his speech, before sending the team to clean the gymnasium. Li Wei and Kiyoko both help out, before walking home together. They don’t usually leave together, but Li Wei told Hinata that he needed some  _ advice _ . His friend seemed a bit crestfallen, before suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. The male manager had no idea as to what that was about, but shrugged it off.

“Kiyoko-san, i’m hanging out with two Aoba Johsai members this weekend and I don’t know how i’m supposed to act.” He starts off, as the two walk home. Kiyoko has never asked questions about why he wants to understand how people normally socialize, understanding that it’s a touchy subject. “Well, just enjoy yourself. I’m sure you won’t have to act a certain way at all. They asked to hang out with you, not someone else, alright?” She gently states, before reaching out to hold Li Wei’s hand. 

He thankfully doesn’t flinch, used to Kiyoko’s gentle touches and nature. Li Wei feels the other manager squeeze his hand, before leaving for her home. The male manager wonders if he really will be fine this weekend, having not really gotten to know the other male joining him and Oikawa.  _ It’ll be a new experience that he truly hopes will go well. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is more Li Wei-centered which is why bits and pieces of the match against the NA are shown. Yori-sensei is going to be real important in the future, though I will not spoil why. I am sorry if this chapter feels sort of rushed, i've been busy and have not had much time to really throw myself into writing. The next chapter is the hangout, so nothing canon will really be happening. I'm pretty excited for it and excited to finally start season 2. Hope you all enjoy!


	12. Valentine's Day Special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Small implication of what Li Wei's parents would do to him)  
> *This special chapter is somewhat canon to the story but not completely, though I won’t spoil what’s canon yet or not.*

**LI WEI HAS BEEN RELAXING AGAINST THE GYMNASIUM WALLS** -reading a book called “Overcoming Trauma”. The male still hadn’t done much in terms of prosecuting his parents, but now the entire team and a few trusted adults know the truth. It has made his episodes a lot easier to handle. 

Today is a bit of a lazy day, with it being Valentine’s Day and all, so most of the team is talking to one another within the gym. As Li Wei continues to read through his book, courtesy of Kiyoko, he hears his name called. “Wei! Do you have a valentine?” Kiyoko asks, garnering the attention of every male within the room, sans the teachers. 

Caught off guard by the question, Li Wei hesitantly looks up from his book and towards Kiyoko, who has been braiding Hitoka’s short hair. Though most of the team calls him by his first name, he sometimes stutters when using the other’s first names in response. “Ah, actually I do.” He slowly utters out, going right back to his book, not believing his statement would really mean anything to anyone. Li Wei still struggles to understand that  _ he deserves to be loved. _

The gym is silent for a few seconds, before a large “WHAT” bellows throughout the room, from his teammates. Not a single member believed Li Wei would have a valentine, as it was agreed upon that the competition for Li Wei’s affections, with the other teams, would happen when Li Wei was comfortable enough with affection. Now, they wonder who exactly decided to forgo the agreement and ask Li Wei out. The more surprising thing is that Li Wei must’ve accepted someone, even though their manager had never shown anyone much interest, aside from blushing from compliments. 

“WEI! WHO’S YOUR VALENTINE?!?” Shouyou yells out, having heard nothing from his best friend. Li Wei is completely oblivious, so why would he ever agree to go out on a date?!? He tries to think of the other players from other teams who would be so bold, really only thinking of Kuroo or Bokuto. However, a quick text to the two denied those ideas, making Shouyou even more confused. 

“I..I won’t tell you.” Li Wei, completely flustered, just wants to hide away. He checks the time on his phone, noticing how his date is supposed to be in 30 minutes. The male quickly gathers his things up, before bowing to his family. “My valentine will be waiting for me soon, so i’ll see you all tomorrow.” With a gentle smile, Li Wei leaves the gym, not realizing the mess of men he left behind. All of whom are texting anyone they can think of who would possibly ask Li Wei out, but getting no closer to the answer.

Shouyou jumps right back up, determination visible all over his face. “WE HAVE TO FOLLOW HIM!” He yells out, surprising his teammates who hadn’t really thought of that answer. “BOKE! What if we get caught?!?” His friend Tobio shouts out, thinking of all the negative issues that would arise with stalking their most private friend. “BUT BUT IF WE DON’T, WE MAY LOSE HIM TO SOMEONE ELSE!!” Shouyou reasons out, finally getting a hesitant nod from Tobio. Before the rest of the team can really give him their input, he grabs Tobio’s hand and runs out of the gym.

Li Wei sits down outside of a small café, awaiting his valentine. It was somewhat sudden, having been asked out a few days prior, but he honestly couldn’t say no. That would break the poor girl’s heart and Li Wei hated being the reason for someone’s pain. 

Another 10 minutes passed by, before a beautiful woman with golden locks and blue eyes sat directly in front of him, with a young girl of about 8 with similar features holding onto her hand. Smiling, Li Wei greeted the two. “Hello Sakura-san, Emi-chan. I hope you two are doing well.” The young girl, Emi, quickly hopped into his lap and gave him a big warm hug, which Li Wei returned.

3 days ago, he found Emi lost within the city and helped her find her way back to her mother. While he tried to leave, Emi hung onto his clothes, having somehow gotten attached to him. Li Wei was called her prince and Sakura eventually asked if he would be Emi’s valentine. The plan was to have Li Wei act as a prince from a fairy tale who got trapped on Earth and was meant to leave on Valentine’s day. It would help Emi get over her sudden attachment. 

While the three happily conversed, two boys were watching the scene with bugged out eyes, wondering who the lady was and why her child or sister was there. Never in their time with Li Wei had the male ever eluded to having been in a relationship. It baffled the two, as Tobio subtly texted the Karasuno group chat about their findings. It only took a second for the group chat to blow up, with Ryuu crying about how unfair the world must be. Daichi must’ve messaged the other teams again, as he received a few messages from a certain cat video gamer and from a few  _ powerful _ players.

As Li Wei was telling Emi all about his life in another world, her mother suddenly interrupted the conversation. “Li-san, do you know those two boys hiding behind the bushes? They’ve been there since you’ve been here.” She asks kindly and Li Wei whips his head towards the bushes, wondering why Shouyou and Tobio followed him. Sighing, he turns back towards the golden-haired woman. “I do know them. Those are my volleyball teammates. I apologize if they’ve made you uncomfortable.” Li Wei sincerely apologizes, feeling bad that he could’ve possibly made his valentine’s mother upset. “Oh, it’s fine dear! We should be leaving soon. I know you must return to your world.” She dramatically cries out, making both Li Wei and Emi giggle. If anyone asked, he would’ve denied having giggled.

As Li Wei gets up from his seat, he kneels down on one knee in front of Emi, a gentle smile on his face. “My princess, i’ll see you someday again. It is time for me to go back to my world. You were a perfect valentine.” As he finishes his little speech, a tiny bundle has thrown itself into his arms that he hugs gently. It felt  _ amazing _ to help someone out without any real expectations. They just wanted  _ him _ for  _ himself _ , with a bit of acting. A small part of him was jealous of the love between the two in front of him, as his parents would rather he drop dead or become their little puppet for the rest of his life.

Eventually, he watches as the two leave him, with Emi waving at him. Satisfied with how the date went, he makes his way towards two troublemakers who for some reason decided to follow him. “Tobio, Sho, why did you two follow me?” Li Wei asks, slightly annoyed by the invasion of privacy but a bit glad someone wanted to look out for him.

“WEI! ARE YOU DATING THAT LADY?!?!?” Shouyou yells out, determined to get an answer. Li Wei blanks at the question, before placing his hand on his forehead. “Sho, i’m gay. You both know this. The team knows this. I know this. I wasn’t on a date with the ‘lady’, but her daughter. She was lost a few days and when I reunited her with her mother, she wanted to be my valentine.” A small smile is present on the emerald-eyed man’s face. 

Shouyou sheepishly laughs, remembering that Li Wei is in fact gay. Tobio, on the other hand, discreetly texts the team back letting them know exactly who Li Wei’s valentine was, before sighing in relief. The battle for Li Wei’s heart is just beginning and everyone has an equal chance. “Wei! If you had to choose who your valentine would be, who would you choose?!?” Shouyou asks, his eyes sparkling. It’s a necessary question.

Li Wei looks at both males straight in the eye, before slightly smirking, a look hardly ever seen on the ice skater as his confidence tends to be shot most of the time socially. “That’s a secret.~” With a wink, Li Wei laughs as he walks away, holding the answer dear to his heart.  _ One day, he would confess to them, but today is not that day. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This chapter was made because i’m really thankful for the support this fic has received thus far! I hope you like it! Enjoy!


	13. 'Not a Date' Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Implications of abuse/torture, internalized homophobia)  
> This is chapter 12!

**STANDING AWKWARDLY OUTSIDE AOBA JOHSAI’S GYMNASIUM-** Li Wei waits for Oikawa and his friend to come out. He hasn’t been out with someone in so long that he could actually consider a friend. Most of his hangouts with Hinata were all volleyball based and nothing like what today was going to shape up to be. The male manager scrolled through his phone, reading articles about what is going on in the ice skating world. 

Surprisingly, there  _ was _ an article on him. A bit shocked, Li Wei quickly reads through the article and sighs in relief when he realizes it was just talking about the latest Grand Prix that he sadly won silver in. Getting back home after that night was a horror story, as his parents  _ threw him back into the basement _ . Silver has never been good enough for his parents, as it was gold or  _ nothing _ . 

Turning off his phone, Li Wei hears some chattering as the volleyball team finishes their practice for the day. Many of the members pass by him in confusion, wondering why Karasuno’s manager is by  _ their _ school. Some believe he’s a scout, while those in on the whole situation know that he’s supposed to be their setter’s  **date** . 

“BEAUTY-CHAN!!!” Li Wei’s head snaps up, turning towards the sound of Oikawa’s voice. The brown-headed male seems to be running in slow motion somehow, acting as though his husband has just come back from a long,  _ long _ trip. Following right behind him is most likely Iwaizumi Hajime, the other person joining them on their excursion of sorts. The male seems completely annoyed by Oikawa, as he grabs him by the scruff and holds him up, before sighing and placing him right down. He can’t really hear their conversation, but whatever was said made Oikawa pout.

Li Wei walked towards the two, a small smile on his face as he is honestly excited about hanging out with those other than Hinata or Kiyoko. Though, he still feels nervous, unsure of how he is supposed to act. Kiyoko stated that he just needed to be himself, but sometimes he’s not sure who he actually is. With having to put on a mask for so long, it feels as though he has a mesh of two different personalities. A cold-emperor-like personality and a soft-easily flustered personality. 

“Good morning, Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi-san. I..I am excited for today’s excursion with the two of you.” Bowing down at a 90 degree angle, the male manager does his best to convey his excitement. Though, it looks more like a mother forcing her kid exactly what to say to the two of them. 

Hiding a slight grimace at the clear formal tone, Oikawa pops right back up again as he widely smiles, planning to make today more of a date than anything. He may have to share his gift from the alien gods with Hajime, but the guy is his best friend so that would be okay! Sometimes, you just gotta make sacrifices in this world.

While Oikawa is having a monologue of sorts within his head, Iwaizumi formally introduces himself to Li Wei, exchanging numbers with one another. The taller male has this  _ need _ to ruffle Li Wei’s hair but holds back, knowing it could make the other far more uncomfortable. However, that urge lingers in the back of his mind and he  _ almost _ can’t help himself. Despite the fact that the male is gorgeous, he is also somewhat like a lost puppy, overly unsure of himself.

“Beauty-chan! We’re gonna go to an arcade and café for today's NOT DATE!” The setter happily utters out, locking arms with Li Wei, who flinches just a bit and looks confused by the action. He has been trying to hide his fear of touch because he doesn’t want to answer any questions about what his life used to be like, but sometimes it’s  _ just so hard.  _ The only way to get better, however, is to desensitize himself to affectionate touches. Plus, Li Wei wants more friends, so if he has to suck up his fears, then so be it. 

“Onwards my ‘not dates’! We have an arcade to go to and take all the prizes from!!” Oikawa’s enthusiasm was rubbing off on Li Wei, who wore a much more visible smile on his face. Iwaizumi, who was used to his friend’s antics, just shook his head fondly. All three made their way onto a bus that would take them closer to downtown Tokyo, where Oikawa’s favorite arcade was. 

Li Wei found himself intrigued by the scenery as the bus went on, paying close attention to whatever they passed by. He still hadn’t explored much of his prefecture, aside from Miyagi itself. He had wanted to though, but there honestly felt like no time to do so. Now however, he would be able to explore more of his new country with some -hopefully- friends. 

_ Poor Li Wei had no idea that neither male saw this as a hangout _ . Even Iwaizumi saw this as more of a three-way date.

As they arrived, Oikawa was quick to push both Li Wei and Hajime off the bus, wanting to attack the arcade as soon as possible. He dragged them both by their hands, feeling that he currently had  _ all _ the power. “Ok men! We must get all the alien plushes, no questions asked! Go go! We must win every single crane game and gets lots of tickets.” With his orders stated, Oikawa went straight towards a pink crane machine, with plenty of weird-looking alien plushes as prizes. He was desperate to get one!

Li Wei stayed by Iwaizumi, both of whom enjoyed the silence between them more than anything. The taller of the two decided to try his hand at a blue crane machine that featured tiny plush cats as prizes, intent on getting on for the beautiful male next to him. Unlike his best friend, Hajime isn’t really good at displaying his emotions and finds it easier to express his liking for someone through gifts.

Putting in a couple hundred yen, Hajime places all his focus onto the crane, willing it to latch onto a prize and  _ not _ drop it. Slowly, he moves the crane over a white fluffy cat plush, before pushing the button that would make the device capture the prize. As it latches onto the prize, Hajime and even Li Wei wait with bated breaths, watching as the crane slowly lifts back up into the air, with the plush in its clutches. Hajime can feel his anxiety spike as the crane shakily moves over to the area where it’s meant to drop the prize, hoping it won’t let go. 

Just as the plush is about to reach its destination, it  **falls** out of the crane. The ace can feel despair mar his features, wondering why the world has forsaken him in such a way. With slumped shoulders, Hajime sighs before trying again, hearing a small chuckle on his left. As he turns his head towards the male manager, he notices how the beauty seems as though he hadn’t made a single noise. 

Eventually, Hajime finally wins the stupid plush..after spending at least 1,000 yen. It hurts a bit to see that money gone from his wallet, but the adorable smile on Li Wei’s face makes up for it. “Thank you Iwaizumi-san.” Those softly spoken words make his heart flutter a bit, as the two walk to where his best friend is, who is hoarding a wide variety of weird plushies. “Beauty-chan~ Pick any plush you see in front of me, as they were all gathered with you in mind!” Hajime could see the sparkles light up in Li Wei’s eyes, as he seemed surprised by the gift. It was  **adorable** .

Li Wei felt pure joy at having both the cat plush and the pink-wonky alien plush in his hands, as he had never been allowed such luxuries. Often, his parents said these adorable stuffed animals were only for girls, therefore he could never have them. He got brutally whipped the one time he brought a teddy bear home, so he never got plushes after that. Li Wei is sure he’ll have a breakdown of sorts when gets back home later today from the sheer amount of rules he is breaking..despite not living with his parents anymore. For now, however, his joy is completely overshadowing any of those negative feelings and it’s such a blessing to feel okay for once.

As the three continue playing different video games, a young girl and her friend come up to them. “Hey misters! Are you guys married?!? My mommy says people who are happy get married.” Though the question is innocent enough, it catches all of them off guard. Oikawa starts laughing a bit, before going into a full-blown laugh. Iwaizumi, on the other hand, just sighs, as if this has happened before. Li Wei, who would vehemently disagree that those who are happy together would get married, becomes flustered and completely uncomfortable by the insinuations. It makes him think about his time in a  _ certain therapy. _

“We aren’t married, young miss. We are simply friends.” Li Wei decides to go down the gentleman route for this situation, noticing how the young girl’s features light up. However, the boy next to her glares right at him and Li Wei just can’t seem to figure out why. “Oh ok! But..you would be the mommy right? And those two would be your daddies?” That statement elicits chokes from both Oikawa and Iwaizumi, the first of which seems to be holding back his laughter. Li Wei sighs, “No, they would not be my ‘daddies’, nor would I be the mommy.” His words make the two behind him splutter further, unable to comprehend the word ‘daddies’ coming out of Li Wei’s mouth.

Eventually, the young boy pulls away his friend, giving Li Wei the stink eye. The male manager is none the wiser as to  _ why  _ he is being given such a glare. As soon as the two leave, Oikawa breaks out into laughter once again, before muttering under his breath about how he  _ could  _ be Li Wei’s daddy. The beautiful male simply wonders why Oikawa would even like to be his dad, but anyone would be better than his biological father.

After that little conversation, Oikawa drags both Li Wei and Iwaizumi over to a small cat café about 10 minutes away from the arcade. Li Wei emerald-eyes sparkled as he spotted the cats, wanting to just  _ pet _ them. He couldn’t have pets at home and he isn’t sure if he can currently take care of an animal as sometimes, he can barely take care of  **himself** .

As they walk inside the adorably pink pastel cat café known as Neko Espresso, the three are seated down by a large window, full of lush forest green vines. There were fairy lights hanging above them, reminding Li Wei of tiny fireflies he would sometimes catch whenever he was allowed to go outside as a child. Those cicada-filled summer nights were some of the best, even if they often ended in pure agony. The noises the cicadas made helped ground him, making it easier to focus on something other than the burning pain on his back.

The entire café was filled with soft pastel bean bags, high-rise tables, and tall chairs, with cat trees all over the place. Watching the cats move around made Li Wei want to join them in their simple lives. When the waitress came around, she seemed to be giving the male manager a look he simply couldn’t understand. The blonde-haired girl with brown eyes was biting her lip and getting a bit too close to him for comfort. “What can I get for you cute guys?” The girl, Ayumi, kept winking and Li Wei just wanted to get further away from her.

Eventually, Iwaizumi must’ve picked up on his uncomfortableness as he took control of the conversation, giving her their orders and sending Ayumi away. After she left, Li Wei sighed in relief, unable to comprehend what just happened. He had girls like him, but none of them really ever approached him as he was their  _ prince _ of sorts, which he detested. The male manager wonders why he couldn’t speak up as sending girls away..and occasionally guys was something he did often back at home. Usually, if he was out at a gala or a competition, one straight-faced look with his emotionless mask would send others away. Li Wei wonders if he feels out of sorts because of how his day has gone. It has been  _ amazing _ and he has been completely annoying all the implications of today till he gets back into his safe haven.

Once their orders had arrived, Li Wei happily ate his strawberry parfait as he had never had one before. It tasted like  _ heaven _ . Oikawa bragged about his recent volleyball wins, while Iwaizumi continued to subtly snark at his best friend. All in all, the café trip was fairly peaceful and enjoyable, with Li Wei constantly petting whatever cat came by to their table. His eyes would especially light up whenever one of the cats sat in his lap as he carefully pet them.

Time flew by, with Li Wei eventually having to leave the two as he had ice skating practice early in the morning before class started. He hadn’t practiced in quite some time and becoming rusty was  **not** an option as he still had so much love for the sport. The journey home was admittedly lonely, as the emerald-eyed man lost the warmth he had earlier. He couldn’t quite understand why he suddenly craved his friend’s touch, especially that of..well a man’s. He wondered if it could all be purely platonic. 

_ In reality, poor Li Wei is so emotionally stunted that he simply doesn’t understand the concept of love or affection as much as he could, explaining why he constantly doubts himself. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a day late, I struggled to finish this chapter as I kept getting distracted!


	14. #1 Ace and the Start of the Training Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Small panic)  
> This is chapter 13!

**LI WEI TIGHTLY GRIPS HIS FIGURE SKATING GEAR-** as he stares up at the Shiratorizawa ice skating rink. It was the most convenient location for him to practice, yet showing up at the academy he was technically meant to attend made him weary. All he wanted to do today was get in some practice before going over to the training camp with his team. 

Currently, it was four in the morning, but the male manager had found the perfect time slot to practice, as he was meant to show up to the training camp by 5:30am. That gave him plenty of time to practice a new routine that he hoped to unveil at the next Grand Prix, which he had already qualified for. This year, he wanted gold to show the world that he could do it all on his  **own** .

As he walked inside the building and towards the massive ice rink, Li Wei found that not a single soul was in sight. He took out a card that was for members, which he happily signed up for, and signed himself in, finding that the lights around the rink turned on. 

Li Wei rapidly hid his eyes from the blinding light, allowing himself a second to adjust. Surprise filled his features as he took in the state of the art facility, noticing how pristine the ice was. Excited by the quality, the male manager went straight towards the left bleachers and changed into his skates, glad to finally be back in his comfort zone. 

Now that he could skate for himself and practice competing at the same time, Li Wei felt  _ free _ . He got into the ice rink and simply glided, allowing himself some time to just relax a bit before beginning his new routine. His phone lay innocently on the left side of the rink’s rail, with his choice of music waiting to be played. 

_ Born to Make History _ was his song of choice, as it made the male feel a sense of happiness and brought him plenty of happiness. As the music began, Li Wei began dancing to his heart’s content, performing a variety of moves that were on the more difficult side. He wanted to incorporate a quadruple axel jump and a triple salchow lutz during the routine. However, sometimes those moves were harder to nail depending on when they were incorporated into the routine.

As Li Wei continued to skate to the music, he never noticed the intense eyes following his every movement. 

Ushijima Wakatoshi had noticed the lights turn on in the ice rink as he walked to practice, making the ace curious. The figure skating team at Shiratorizawa practiced around 6:30 in the morning and not at 4:30am. Unable to sate his curiosity by simply walking by, the dark olive-brown haired male walked into the building and stared at the figure on the ice.

He was sure he had just seen an ice fairy, gracefully flying amongst the ice. Ushijima could tell the male wasn’t a student, as one with that level of beauty would surely be widely known. The long dark hair and emerald eyes created a sense of beauty that the ace had never seen before.

Unlike his own teammates, the elegance oozing from the stunning male was enough to keep his eyes glued to the figure. Ushijima had never really been attracted to anyone, finding that he would rather focus his time and energy on volleyball. However, his heart skipped a few beats whenever the fairy would jump into the air and fly high above the skies. 

As the music finally finished, Li Wei was heavily panting, having gotten an amazing workout and left him feeling refreshed. He truly missed skating around and doing his own thing, instead of doing something just to win. Yes, he  **wanted** the gold, but he loved having creative freedom. 

Leaving the rink, Li Wei squeaked in surprise at the tall male standing across from him. His large stature, compared to that of Li Wei’s, made the male manager frightened as he was never any good with someone much larger than him. Those on the Karasuno team were more lithe than massive muscles, while the male in front of him was full of muscles. 

“H-hello there.” Li Wei did a quick bow, wincing at his small stutter. It was never a good thing to show any form of fear or weakness to someone who could hurt him badly. He waited with bated breaths as the dark olive-brown haired male slowly opened his mouth, before uttering words in a deep voice. “Ushijima Wakatoshi, ace of the volleyball team and a third year. You should’ve come to Shiratorizawa.” 

Li Wei blinks, confused. Come to Shiratorizawa? Does that mean the guy in front of him knows who he is?? Panicked, Li Wei grabs his figure skating bag, changes his shoes, and runs out of the building, fearful that the male will somehow alert the school to the truth. He refuses to be caught because  _ he will never go back to that hellhole. _

Ushijima watches as the fairy runs away from him, wondering why he scared him off. Unable to come up with a reason, the ace leaves the building as well and makes his way towards the gymnasium. He promises that if he ever sees the emerald-eyed fairy again, that he  _ will _ learn his name.

~~~~~~~

Li Wei stares up at the rickety brown training camp building and walks inside, knowing he is sadly late. He had to take a bus back to his home to pick up his notebook and a few other necessities for the trip. That took some time as the male manager was a bit frantic as he packed, unable to forget his sentence conversation with the tall male. 

Eventually, the manager finds himself in front of two grey doors, smelling amazing scents coming from the room directly in front of him. He can also hear the chatter from his teammates, who all arrived together. As he pushes the door open, a loud “LI-KUN!” filters through his ears as a tangerine barrels into his arms.

Frozen in place for a second, Li Wei wraps his lithe arms around Hinata, enjoying the affection. As time has passed on, Li Wei has become more aware of his touch-starved state and only really allows Hinata into his personal space. “Hello Hinata-kun. Hello everyone, I would like to apologize for being late.” The male manager does an awkward bow as Hinata is still within his arms, but luckily none of the members seem to care that he is late.

“It’s great to see you, Li-san. Come join the rest of the team and eat. The camp will be starting later.” The advisor says, which prompts Hinata to drag his arm towards the table. He’s sat in between Asahi and Hinata, both of whom are happy to see him. A small pink blush begins forming on his cheeks as he takes a look at the delicious food.

Putting various pieces of food onto his plate, Li Wei engages in small talk with his friends, enjoying the warming atmosphere surrounding the area. He laughs freely at Hinata’s accidental milk snort, which causes the tangerine to splutter. Li Wei hasn’t felt  _ this _ light in quite some time and he thoroughly enjoys it. 

“Li-kun!! I’m gonna be the best player by the end of this camp!!” Hinata proudly proclaims and Li Wei just giggles before quickly clamping a hand over his mouth. “Oh yes, I believe that. You’ll be the absolute best, Hinata-kun.” The sincerity behind his words causes Hinata to become a tomato, before rapidly covering his face. 

“Li-san, you’re dangerous for the soul.” Sugawara states in complete seriousness, causing the other members at the table to break out into laughter. Li Wei, being the oblivious male he is, did not understand the statement. “I do not believe I am dangerous. I would never hurt anyone.” 

“Of course, Li-san.” The gentle smile on Sugawara’s face continues to spurn on the others, who can’t help but enjoy the innocence of their male manager. It brings a bit of diversity to the already overwhelming set of personalities on the team.

As the team finished eating all of the food, Li Wei looked up at the ceiling, knowing that the next week would be grueling for Karasuno. He may not be an actual player, but he had spoken to the coach before they were due for this trip about possibly participating. He told the spiky-blonde about his plan of becoming a player next year instead of a manager and that he needed more practice to become an all-rounder. With a nod of agreement, Li Wei would now be working his limbs to the extreme with the rest of his friends.

**He hopes he can survive before the end of the week, as he doesn’t want to miss any part of the match against Nekoma.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be on Wednesday, so that on Saturday I can do the match against Nekoma!


	15. End of the Training Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Small dark thought)  
> This is chapter 14!

**LI WEI STARED AT THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM, WONDERING IF** \- this was the end. He couldn’t exactly  _ avoid _ taking a shower, nor could he think of a good enough excuse aside from not feeling comfortable with showing off his body. However, Hinata was so excited to learn about his hair care routine because it was supposedly very shiny and silky. He hated disappointing Hinata, yet he knew questions would be asked the second the clothing came off of his body. 

Scars were  **everywhere** . His arms and thighs were littered with small pink lines, some of which seemed done in anger. His back held welts of all sizes, layering on top of one another. His chest, near the bottom, had plenty of cigarette burn marks, from whenever his father found himself too lazy to get an ashtray. Li Wei never hated his body, but he simply found it disgusting. 

Sighing, Li Wei carefully opened the sliding door, hearing loud bouts of chatter from the other first-years. Hinata’s cheery voice instantly commanded attention to itself, something Li Wei would probably never be able to do. 

As he shuffled through his bag for his toiletries, Li Wei was surprised by the white shirt he had brought. The male manager tried to recall its purpose, when he had a lightbulb moment. The shirt was for the shower/bath! This meant he could join his team without any repercussions of seeing the scars on his back or chest, though the ones on his arms and thighs would become more noticeable. He would just cover them with a towel.

With everything in hand, Li Wei walked into the shower/bath area, where a loud ‘LI-KUN’ echoed throughout the room. Sighing fondly, Li Wei sits on one of the many stools and begins to shower himself, careful not to let anyone see the scars littering his body. He gently responds to Hinata with a small hello, before keeping to himself as the day has been long enough already. Behind him, the other first-years were chatting about what the rest of the week would be like, having already practiced some volleyball. Li Wei was a bit sad that he already missed some potential practice, however he felt he needed to ice skate a bit. It provided him with a different outlet for when he felt down.

Having finished washing his body, Li Wei made his way over to the steaming hot water, gently letting himself in. A sigh of relief passed his lips as he completely submerged himself, missing the blushes across the first-years faces. The male god on their team was basically naked, aside from the white shirt that somehow didn’t become see through, and that did  **wonders** for their thoughts. Luckily for the boys, Li Wei was far more focused on the warmth surrounding him.

Time passes by slowly, with the other first-years leaving Li Wei all by himself in the warm water. The beautiful male finds it difficult to leave the warmth, as he would rather just  _ fall asleep _ . However, he knows that if he falls asleep, he may drown and that isn’t something he would like to do at the moment.

Slowly getting out of the water, Li Wei rapidly wraps himself in a white fluffy towel, though he still shivers a bit. He puts on some forest green silk pajamas that have never irritated his skin, something he truly finds solace in. The male manager puts the rest of his items into his black bag, before leaving the bathroom. He makes his way towards the room everyone will be sleeping in, noticing how many of the members are deciding who they will be sleeping next to and where they’ll be sleeping. 

“LI-KUN! Sleep next to me!!” Hinata’s puppy eyes are automatically out, leaving Li Wei defenseless. He hates making Hinata sad so he agrees to sleep right next to the male, which results in the tangerine pumping his left fist upwards. “See bakeyama! Li-kun will always sleep with me!” His friend spews out, before clamming right up and blushing a deep red. Question marks appear above Li Wei’s head as he cannot fathom why Hinata suddenly became embarrassed. 

“B-BOKE HINATA BOKE, y-you can’t say that!” Kageyama slightly stutters as he also wears a deep crimson blush. Over time, Li Wei has begun warming up to Kageyama, who he eventually realized sucks at social situations. 

“N-no I M-MEANT NEXT T-TO ME!!” His friend corrects himself almost desperately, before looking at him for some form of approval? Li Wei isn’t completely sure. However, he nods back at Hinata, watching the male deflate in relief. Still confused, the male manager decides to forget about the conversation, instead focusing on placing his futon down. Li Wei gets himself under the covers, despite it only being noon. 

For the next 10 hours, the team members chat, gossip, and overall enjoy themselves. A game of truth and dare is played, with Li Wei getting asked plenty of truths about  _ who he likes _ and  _ who he would marry _ . The male never gave them a clear answer, unsure of what they were fishing for. He also didn’t want to think about the answers to those questions, as he has been fairly confused lately. 

Eventually, when night time comes around, Li Wei is fast asleep. The other team members stayed up a bit longer, speaking in hushed whispers about what the week would bring to fruition. There were also conversations about the Nekoma team, though Li Wei was fast asleep by this point.

Li Wei only woke once during the night, hearing Sugawara and Sawamura speak lowly about universities. It took some time to fall back asleep, so he stared up at the bland ceiling. His mind whirled over today’s topics, specifically the truth and dare topics. He could never understand why people cared about his future love-life, if he even had one.

The next day is a whirlwind of events, with enough training to destroy his limbs for the next week. The entire team did a 2-hour long workout that featured push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, etc. Basically, anything that would take the team’s muscles and cruelly tear them apart from the inside. Li Wei was able to get some setter practice, courtesy of Sugawara, who urged the male to call him Suga.

Sugawara had gone behind him, instantly triggering his fight-or-flight instincts, with Li Wei ready to just  _ run _ . Luckily, Sugawara noticed the clear fear and his tense shoulders, stepping away from him. It took some time for Li Wei to calm down and realize that not a single person within the gym was looking to cause him harm of any sort.

On the other hand, Sugawara Koushi quickly noticed the unsubtle flinch presented by Li Wei, their male manager of many mysteries. That flinch alone cemented many of the setter’s theories, who had a friend who was constantly abused. The silver-haired male decided not to point out the flinch, knowing that it would simply make the male tense as ever. Instead, he vowed there and then to watch the male more closely in order to see if he could get the guy the same help he had gotten his friend. He may tell Daichi however, we the captain also knows about the troubles his friend went through and may be able to help.

With a newfound level of confidence, at least in the setter position, Li Wei joins matches here and there. The male manager doesn’t join them often, knowing the team needs to really gear up for the match against Nekoma. 

Every single day that week, Li Wei became a supportive cheerleader of sorts. without the uniforms and pom poms. He tried to hype his team up, getting further out of his comfort zone. He even began giving pats on the back to the members who did the best! The amount of improvement Li Wei has had since he escaped from his  **hellhole** makes him proud of himself. The emerald-eyed male thoroughly believed that he would live the rest of his life in fear, waiting to be brought back home. 

The day before the match, the Karasuno volleyball members received their uniforms, much to the excitement of the first-years. Hinata was especially excited, having received the same number as the Tiny Giant, an amazing volleyball player that his best friend looks up too. Li Wei loved the design of the uniforms, wanting to eventually wear one himself. A fond smile appeared on his face as he thought about what it would be like to officially become a player.

The night before the match, the entire team is fairly anxious. The long-standing rivalry between the two teams is slowly filtering over to the newest members, Li Wei shamefully included. He always wanted to be a part of a family of sorts and if his entire family goes against the other, then of course he would follow. The captain mentioned a few specific members here and there, such as a male with bleached blonde hair and a tall flirt who seemed to adore science puns. Interested, Li Wei plans to become friends with the mentioned members, wanting to further his social circle with those who would like him because of himself, rather than because he is his parent’s heir. 

**The day of the Nekoma match would bring about new friends, odd feelings, and a sudden realization.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit late!


	16. Nekoma pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (TW: Internalized homophobia)  
> This is chapter 15!

**LI STARED CURIOUSLY AT THE NEKOMA TEAM** -noticing all the intriguing characters. His emerald eyes fluttered over to one very short male with blonde-bleached hair and who held a psp of sorts. Li Wei had never played handheld video games before, being denied the luxury because his parents feared that his brain would be destroyed and they would lose their pawn. He felt bitter about that fact for a long time, especially as a child where he was unable to understand why all the other children could have something his parents could buy hundreds of.

The male manager’s eyes moved over to an extremely tall male with silver hair and was promptly surprised, recognizing a foreigner or at least, someone of not pure Japanese blood. Since his arrival in Japan, Li Wei has rarely seen any foreigner, making him feel like a bit of an outcast. The urge to go up to the tall male was frighteningly large and Li Wei promised himself that he would make time to do so before leaving. 

The last member that caught his attention was another person that their captain told them about, Nekoma’s captain. The tall male with black bed hair and a smug smirk was staring directly at him, with neither moving their eyes away. The staring went on for a bit, as Li Wei couldn’t force his eyes away, somewhat mesmerized by the male on the other side of the court. Eventually, the smug male winked at him, causing the male manager to blush and turn away, unable to comprehend what he just felt. 

Was it nerves? Had the anxiety from the night before that stayed in the background finally catch up to him? Could he be sick?!? Li Wei blanched, unable to deal with getting sick again. Missing another match would have made him feel like an awful team member, as he felt as though he was completely letting his found-family down.

Recently, Li Wei has been introduced to an entirely new world,  **social media.** This morning, Hinata was adamant that he understood the inner workings of many different apps, all revolving around the idea of sharing one’s life. Another concept he was introduced to was memes, something that Li Wei struggled to find the humor behind. His friend asked him to read a meme aloud, causing the rest of the team to break out into wheezing laughter. It took some time for Li Wei to actually understand the meaning of certain jokes.

Sighing fondly, Li Wei watches as the Karasuno team gears up for an exciting match against their long-time rivals and his heart is beating wildly. He loves the rush of watching the matches go on and not knowing who will be the victor. It’s like gambling, but without the money. His parents often forced him to learn how to gamble whenever they met up with other wealthy politicians and he absolutely dreaded it. 

Looking away from Nekoma, Li Wei notices the small interaction between his coach, advisor, and Nekoma’s coach. The meeting between the three comes off as very warm and inviting, despite the clear rivalry between the teams. That warmness is rarely seen on the figure skate, as many competitors often kept to themselves in order to put their complete focus on the competition at hand. The only friends Li Wei has made have been one very infuriating silver-haired skater and his easily flustered partner. He has also met their friends, who have some very interesting personalities.

Both teams lined up and bowed to one another, wishing the other a great game. It was time for the match between long-time rivals to begin. Li Wei stood near the coaches, who were insulting one another playfully as they ‘betted’ on who would win. The bet was that the winner would have the loser buy plenty of beer as a means of celebration. 

While Li Wei was focused on the beginning of the match, a member on the Nekoma side was struggling to stay focused. His hazel-colored eyes kept wandering over to the male with beautiful long dark hair and stunning emerald eyes. Kuroo Tetsurou is a man of action and in that moment, he promises to make contact with the beauty on the other side of the court. He’ll ask for his hand in marriage! Just as Kuroo is about to delve further into  _ that _ topic, he feels intensive cat-like eyes lingering on his eyes. Fighting off a full-blown shiver, Kuroo rapidly moves his eyes back to the court, knowing he’ll be in for it later.

One of the things Li Wei noted down in his tiny notebook was that teams are usually surprised by Hinata in general, whether it’s because of his height or position. It’s always a rush to watch the other team get completely caught off guard by Hinata and Kageyama’s attack move.

The first few points went to Karasuno, with Kiyoko keeping track of the score. His friend was right in front of him as Li Wei stood behind the bench that included Kiyoko, the coach, and their advisor. It seemed as though Nekoma was creating a game plan rather quickly as their coach called a timeout.

“Kiyoko-san, who do you think will win this practice match?” Li Wei slightly bent down as he whispered those words into Kiyoko’s ear, who was slightly caught off guard for a second. His beautiful friend turned towards him and whispered back into his own ear, causing Li Wei to push his long silky hair behind his ear. “I want to root for our team, but that small guy on Nekoma’s side, the one with bleached hair, is an amazing strategist. He may have already figured out our quick attack.” Li Wei was honestly surprised by the information and rapidly looked towards the male Kiyoko spoke of. The smaller male was kind of..cute?

Li Wei’s face became red fairly quickly as he tried to get rid of such a thought. Once again, he could not be anything other than straight, as he was taught it was  **wrong** . However, he recalls the information he received from Kiyoko, who stated that she could care less about gender in itself. His friend didn’t seem disgusted, nor was she anything other than normal. 

The two had conversed about the topic earlier this morning, where Li Wei couldn’t help but stare at some of his teammates. He never had much muscle overall, so it was interesting to see his teammates be much buffer. Kiyoko pulled him aside and asked him about his thoughts on sexuality, which he promptly answered. At first, his friend had been rather upset at his words, as she herself was by no means straight. However, after bluntly explaining that he went to therapy on the matter, she seemed softer around him. Li Wei unfortunately could not understand why, but at least his first female friend wasn’t mad at him anymore.

Lost in thought, Li Wei misses the turning point of the game. Suddenly, Nekoma has gotten the upper hand and the male manager wants to knock his head against a wall for getting lost in his own head, which happens more often than not. 

Karasuno comes towards the benches, where coach Ukai gives the entire team a bit of a pep talk. With the team hyping up Hinata, Li Wei can’t help but join in, something he doesn’t do often. “Just do your best Hinata-kun, i’ll root for you no matter what.” Giving Hinata a gentle smile, Li Wei watches as his friend lights up like a red christmas tree, waving his hands wildly around. “Li-san is our ace in the hole, a true killer!” He hears Tanaka state, before snickering away. The team is sent back to the court for the second match, while Li Wei ponders how he could possibly be a murderer. 

The match continues on, with his friend coming to a realization on the court that he can get past the person constantly blocking him. It almost brings a tear to Li Wei’s eyes, who feels like a proud mother. It’s an odd thought, but Hinata is just so childlike that he can’t help himself.

Li Wei sits on the floor, next to Takeda-sensei, who immediately offers his seat up. The male manager is quick to reassure the male that he is fine, thinking back on his teachings about respecting elders. Had Takeda heard that thought, he would have spluttered at the idea of being called an ‘elder’.

Excitement thrums through his veins as he continues to watch the match, unable to tear his eyes away. Most of the time, they linger on the other team, which had plenty of amazing members. However, every single time the smug male stares at him,  **Li Wei can feel the thump of his heart, making him wonder what’s going on.**

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so late. I am very behind on everything right now because finals are next week, so this upcoming week is a bit of a 'crunch-everything in' kind of week. Hopefully, part 2 (which will be much longer) will be up on Saturday. So, as the story progresses, Li Wei will become more alright with his sexuality, but it will still take time. On another note, the social media portion will be very important later on, so look forward to that! Enjoy! I am sorry for being so late with this chapter and it being on the shorter side.


End file.
